


See My Worm

by Simon_says_fly



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Alt-Power Taylor Hebert, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Case 53s (Parahumans), Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Deal with a Devil, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, One Shot Collection, Snippets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:35:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27708437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simon_says_fly/pseuds/Simon_says_fly
Summary: Just a place to put down some of my random thought and ideas towards the Worm/Parahuman universe.  I have fallen in love with the various fanfics out there and they have inspired so many crazy ideas.  I have absolutely no idea if anything more will come from these little snippets, so if anyone sees something they'd like to try and flesh out into a full story, just shoot me a line.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 52





	1. Top Hat

March 19, 2010

With an exaggerated flourish of my hand, hamming it up for those watching, I reached into my Top Hat. The chorus of “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” from the elementary schoolchildren, their teachers included, was like music to my ears as eventually my entire arm vanished, as well. It was glaringly obvious to everyone watching that the space inside the hat was not enough for such an act to be possible. I drew my brow downwards in mock confusion.

“Where is it?” I complained. Waiting for the suspense to build slightly, I yelled out “Ah ha!” and ripped my arm out suddenly, a penguin firmly within my grasp. “Tada! A rabbit!”

The roar of laughter was exactly what I had been hoping to achieve. The first through fifth graders all started calling out that it wasn’t a rabbit at all, but rather, a penguin. I stared at the crowd. “What?” I made a show of looking at my audience with a bewildered expression before staring at the bird. “You’re not a rabbit.”

My practiced bit continued on, me pretending that it was supposed to be a rabbit. I even reached back into the hat and pulled out some fuzzy bunny ears that I placed on the penguin’s head. The penguin was not amused, though the kids all seemed to love it, which was good since I had actually attempted to pull a rabbit from the hat. For whatever reason, my “magic” just loved to fuck with me. I took a moment to offer a smile towards the side of the auditorium’s stage where my best friend, Emma Barnes, was watching my performance. The beautiful redhead was laughing and clapping along with everyone else. Well, everyone but Sophia… Shadow Stalker, while in costume. The former vigilante and one of my current teammates with the Wards was clearly not in the mood to laugh, not that she ever was that I could recall.

Oh, well…

“Thank you, Magician.” The principal for Happy Day Elementary called out, helping to bring my attention back to my performance. “Let’s have a big Happy Day ‘thank you’ for such a great performance.”

Smiling first to the principal while trying to ignore the lecherous glance he kept shooting my way, and then back towards the audience, I took a moment to offer a bow to the assorted children. I carefully made sure that my costume remained modest… well, as modest as the “stripper outfit” (as many of the trolls across PHO liked to refer to it as) would allow. My powers decided that my use of “magic” forced me into a premade outfit. The heroes of Brockton Bay wanted me; they had to deal with the costume that it came with. I really couldn’t help that I was dressed in a black tail tuxedo jacket over a white shirt complete with the white bowtie, high cut tight black shorts, white gloves… along with net stockings, thigh high, high heeled boots and my signature top hat. The mask was the only piece I could add. 

I was only happy that my magic gave me the body to go along with the costume. My pre-Trigger appearance would have been ridiculous trying to pull off this ensemble. No one would think that underneath all of this magic and parahuman nonsense was a barely teenaged girl. No. I now sported a bombshell of a figure that any teenage girl would love to have… and the boys all wanted.

Desperately.

Ick.

Offering a final wave to the children, I walked offstage to where Emma and Sophia were waiting, as were several other members of my Ward team. I smiled as I passed Clockblocker. He grimaced towards me, knowing that he’d have to pull out all the stops to beat my performance. No one liked following me when we were performing for children. My smirk only served to make him playfully snarl while he intentionally bumped my shoulder as we passed next to one another. I would get him back later. For now, I tossed the penguin into his arms. I’d make him deal with it until it finally faded away.

Emma tilted her head back as I drew closer. Growing up, I’d always been the taller friend. My five foot seven inches to her five foot four inches. Now, with the inclusion of Magician’s magical body at five foot ten and the four inch heels, I towered over most everyone else. Six two was awesome, though the heels sucked. I was oh so very thankful that this body came with the ability to walk in them. Sometimes even run.

“You were wonderful.”

At my best friend’s praise, I felt my cheeks warm. “Thanks.”

“Yeah. You didn’t suck.” Shadow Stalker snarked from where she stood. “The bit with the bird would’ve been better if you had meant to do that.”

I rolled my eyes at my other friend and my hero buddy. We had both joined the Wards at around the same time, so we had naturally been paired off with one another. It helped that I seemed to be one of the chosen few that could get along with the former vigilante. “You’re just jealous that they pulled you off the stage since you made that kid cry.”

“Eh. Meant to do that.” She threw her hands over her head. “Little Johnny tried to give me lip. I don’t take that from anyone.”

“He’s a first grader.” Emma argued.

“Don’t care.” Sophia crossed her arms across her chest. “No one disses me.”

I had more to say about that, but Vista and Kid Winn drew over to where the three of us were standing. The youngest, yet most experienced of the Wards – Vista – was looking me over. “Where’s the penguin? I wanted to play with him until he went away.”

Jerking my thumb towards the stage, we all turned to watch as Clockblocker was currently using the magicked Antarctic bird as the example of how his powers worked. The poor flightless fowl was currently stuck in a pose that had several of the schoolchildren laughing. 

“Awww.” Vista sighed loudly. “Poor thing.”

“It’s not real.” Sophia offered to our teammate. “The thing isn’t alive.”

“Are you sure?”

At Vista’s question, Shadow Stalker looked at me. I could only shrug. Sure, my magic pulled what seemed to be living, breathing things from the hat… and yes, they eventually faded away, but truthfully, I had absolutely no clue if they were a simple construct of my parahuman abilities or if they were pulled from somewhere far away and just eventually returned there later. In all the time I’d had my powers, no one had quite figured it all out. Thinkers, Tinkers and a few Trumps had all been unable to offer a definitive answer.

“Don’t look at me.” I offered. “I just work here. Call information for further inquiries.” Shadow Stalker stuck her tongue out at me, much to Emma’s amusement.

..oo00OO*OO00oo..


	2. Ten

Legend stood at the front of the room, pacing back and forth, silently. To much of the room, those assembled had rarely glimpsed the hero so conflicted in appearance… even just scant hours prior to an Endbringer attack. The many and varied ‘Capes’ that waited within the San Diego Hilton’s conference center for the standard pep talk and assignments continuously shared looks of apprehension. Why was Legend so worried? Armsmaster, the co-captain of Brockton Bay’s Protectorate Team seemed ready to say something when the leader of the Triumvirate finally stopped and spoke.

“We have a…” the brown-haired hero sighed. “A problem, I guess you could say.”

“Other than Leviathan, you mean?” Assault called from somewhere within the assembled Parahumans.

Ignoring the soft chuckles and good-natured groans that followed the question, Legend shared a deep look with many of his friends and associates. “The Ten Plagues of Egypt is here.” A silent shock filled the room at the man’s statement. Everyone in attendance knew something about the Parahuman listed as a Class S. 

‘The’ Class S.

Just a couple of years ago, The Ten Plagues of Egypt had been the Slaughterhouse Nine’s most recent recruit. Hatchetface, one of their longstanding members, had fallen and Jack Slash was not one to let an empty slot in his team’s roster sit for very long. No one currently had a clue as to where she had come from. Just that in the Spring of 2012, the newest member of the Slaughterhouse Nine made her debut… and what a debut it was. 

Over the course of ten days, the newest Parahuman villain had reenacted the infamous Biblical Ten Plagues that Moses had set upon the Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt upon the small city of Florence, Alabama.

It had started with the Tennessee River running like blood for an entire day. The panic that it caused to the city’s populace had caught the attention of several scientists and PRT specialists. It would be days later that they discovered the blood was from rodents; rats and mice. As the evening approached and the river’s coloring slowly returned to normal, everyone relaxed.

They should have remained vigilant.

The second day, Florence awoke to be infested with frogs. The third was lice and gnats. Flies infesting the entire city on the fourth day led to an understanding by a local Church as to what was happening. Calls of the Rapture and the End of Days filled the news cycles. No longer just a local phenomenon, the National and then International reports were sending reporters to cover what was happening.

Day five, those watching reports were shown dead livestock. 

The Protectorate from Atlanta, Georgia was called in. They arrived just in time to become covered in boils and sores like the rest of the city. They realized they were in well over their heads when fire fell from the sky on Day Seven. The idea of divine action fell away when the Capes on the scene realized that the fire was thousands of bugs on fire, falling over the city. It took just a few further steps of logic to see that bugs and insects were somehow a part of each ‘plague’ that Florence was suffering. They were looking for a Parahuman that had something to do with insects. 

That didn’t stop Day Eight and the local vegetation all dying. 

The Protectorate out of Chicage sent members to aid in any way possible. They arrived in near total Darkness at noon. A swarm of millions of insects filled the sky, blocking the sun. By now, the people of Florence had evacuated, as had the surrounding cities of Sheffield and Muscle Shoals. The nation was in a panic. No one knew where the cause was. Worse, however, was the fear of the tenth and final plague as listed in Exodus. It could have been worse, all things considered. Alabama was a part of the so-called ‘Bible Belt’ and, therefore, almost everyone knew the story of Moses. They all knew the threat of the last plague. Not everyone escaped Day Ten. Hundreds of first-born males died that March morning, those that either didn’t believe, or just hadn’t escaped in time.

A female, age undetermined, but the best Thinkers available looked at later footage and claimed her to be a teenager - early twenties at the oldest. She stood in front of the entrance to the University of North Alabama… a bug mask covering her face, with the other eight members of Slaughterhouse Nine behind her, and claimed credit for the past ten days. The assorted conglomeration of local and state police, PRT agents, as well as nine Protectorate members, all under the watchful gaze of the world thanks to the various news agencies in attendance, attempted to apprehend them.

The forces of good were, forgive the pun, slaughtered. 

Backup had been on the way. Dragon from Canada’s Guild, as well as all three of the Triumvirate and their hand-selected teams had been just a few scant minutes away. Florence should have waited. Instead, the city was left in ruin. The woman, girl really, had been dubbed The Ten Plagues of Egypt by an uninspired reported that died that day. She had been immediately designated as a Class S threat by virtue of being a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine.

Three months later, the other eight members of the Slaughterhouse Nine were all dead by Ten Plagues’ (the shortened version she was often referred to as) hand and she was classified as the Most Wanted Class S in the world, only listed one step below the Endbringers.

And now she was here… upon the edge of the latest Endbringer attack.

Legend nodded and continued. “Upon arrival here, I was met by Lightning Bug. She was terrified. It seems that during a patrol of the beach to help warn the citizens of the upcoming danger, she spotted Ten Plagues on the beach, staring out over the Pacific.”

“Fuck me.” Someone spoke. It was followed by several similar expletives of a similar nature. 

Finally, the question of the moment was asked. “What do we do?”

Legend took a deep breath. “The Truce is in effect.”

“No way!” Miss Militia nearly screamed. Narwhal followed with a cry of “Over my dead body.” Soon, shouts and cries from the assembled heroes began to reach a near crescendo of unintelligible proportions. Legend held up his hands to try to regain some semblance of order, but everyone kept speaking, trying to be heard over the people attempting the same. 

“So, the Truce is not in effect?” Lung, the Dragon of Brockton Bay, asked in a moment of pause in the cacophony. 

Alexandria, who had been standing somewhat behind where Legend stood, answered. “The Truce must be followed.” At the woman’s declaration, the room and its assorted heroes and villains all began to argue over what to do next.

While everyone tried to talk over the person next to them in order to be heard, Legend motioned to the other members of the Triumvirate and they made their way over to the television monitor. Though he spoke softly, both Alexandria and Eidon (???) followed along.

“I was able to record my conversation.” The screen lit up at Legend’s press of a button and it now showed a Point of View showing from Legend talking to a woman… a girl, really. He began forwarding through the video. “You can watch all of it later. I wanted you to hear this part.”

“…member much. Winslow. Maybe my name. And pain. Always pain.”

At her words, the Legend from the video responded softly. “You can’t remember your life before?”

“Maybe one of my parents was a tailor?” She never stopped looking out towards the ocean. “Just the Bonesaw was to be my sister now and the past wasn’t needed.”

“And that’s why you killed her?”

Ten Plagues shrugged. She momentarily turned to look directly at Legend, allowing those in the room that realized what the ‘big three’ were watching was important, to get maybe the best look at the Class S for the first time. Her face might have once been, not beautiful, but possibly pretty, but that one of her eyes looked to have been replaced with a large bug’s eye. Half of her head was shaved with a crisscrossing of scars that barely concealed mechanical wires throughout her skull.

“I seem to have problems with being told what to do.”

As the recording paused, Lege3nd turned to the other two. “Thoughts?” Neither answered.

“Uhm.” A voice spoke into the silence. “I think I might have an idea.”

Both Legend and Alexandria stopped their silent conversation and turned to where Shadow Stalker, the most recently promoted Ward to Protectorate Member stood next to her teammates from New York. The rest of the room seemed to all pause, as well.

“Excuse me?” Alexandria asked.

The young Cape nodded. She stepped forward and looked pleadingly over to where Miss Militia stood. “Yeah. Winslow is a school. A high school.”

“Okay?”

At Legend’s question, Miss Militia glanced between where the young hero, currently in the spotlight, stood and then over to Armsmaster, who was currently cursing under his breath. “Stalker?”

“Fuck!” Armsmaster was getting louder. Several of his team were attempting to calm the veteran hero down, but he continued. “No. Fuck me and you and everyone else. Fuck no.”

Miss Militia’s eyes went wide. She glanced back at where Shadow Stalker remained standing. “You don’t think…?”

Shadow Stalker nodded before returning her gaze to where Legend and Alexandria stood waiting. “A few years ago… 2011. I wasn’t… that’s to say, well, that…” When Miss Militia put her hand on Shadow Stalker’s shoulder in a show of support, the young Cape took a deep breath. “I was young and stupid and I bullied a girl at school.”

“I’m not following.” Alexandria spoke.

“Yeah. I was really awful to a girl. Taylor.” The room seemed to take a breath, each suddenly understanding that something important was happening. “Taylor Hebert. Me and a few friends, well, we made her life hell. Maybe the even so far as the worst day of her life.” Shadow Stalker licked her lips. “We… no… I. Me. I played a horrible prank on her and Taylor went to the hospital.”

When she wasn’t more forthcoming, Legend nodded. “And then what happened?”

“She vanished. Disappeared.” The young Cape offered with a shrug of her shoulders. “Two days after being admitted to the hospital, in a… well…” She took a deep breath. “It was classified as a runway. Her father thought kidnapping. No one ever found her.”

“She was in a coma.” Miss Militia offered starkly. “You admitted your mistakes. You’ve paid for your crimes.” Turning to where the others watched, she spoke. “Shadow Stalker realized she made a huge mistake and came to us, Armsmaster and me. She admitted what she’d done and wanted us to help find her classmate. We never found a clue.”

“Yeah.” Armsmaster finally stopped his tirade and joined the discussion. “Never found anything. Girl vanished. Poof. Gone.”

“And you think she might be The Ten Plagues of Egypt?”

At Alexandria’s question, the former vigilante shook her head. “Maybe? I don’t know. She was a skinny girl. Tall. Lanky, really. She had long black hair and wore glasses. A geek.”

“That could be her.” Legend shared a glance with Miss Militia and then Armsmaster. 

“I’ve found several photographs online.” Dragon’s voice was suddenly coming from a nearby speaker. “I’ve run several facial recognition algorithms, as well as postulated known facts along with a running timeline. Based on what we currently know, there is an eighty-one percent probability that Taylor Anne Hebert and The Ten Plagues of Egypt are the same person.”

Legend looked at where Battery was trying to console Armsmaster The Tinker took a deep breath. “Well, damn it. Now what?”

What indeed?

..oo00OO*OO00oo..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always wondered what would have happened if the Slaughterhouse Nine or Nilbog showed up to battle an Endbringer. What would everyone do? There is a Kill Order, but they are so dangerous that they might be able to make a real difference in the fight.


	3. Never Been To Georgia

January 10, 2011

I often wondered exactly how I seemed to always draw the short straw in life, but here I was again. Mom died two years ago while texting me and my Dad has been seeking the meaning of life inside of a tequila bottle ever since. My best friend turned on me over a year ago and has become my main tormentor during high school. I gave up a scholarship to Arcadia in the name of said friendship. Go me. My home was about to be foreclosed on… and I’m currently in the process of going insane, if one considers the fact that I am apparently currently standing in front of the most gorgeous woman in the world. A woman who has horns on her head, a demonic red glow to her eyes and a tail swishing behind her. 

Oh. And she’s naked.

When had my bisexual leanings and curiosity gone full out lesbian?

“You’re not going crazy, Taylor Anne Hebert.” Damn. Even her voice is sexy. Deep and husky. Like dark chocolate on the tip of your tongue. “I’m just here to offer you a chance to succeed.”

“At what price?”

The woman offered me a sinfully decadent smile. I tried to ignore her nudity, but I was only human. “You called for me, Taylor Anne Hebert. In that locker. You begged for anyone to save you. You offered anything and everything.” She licked her lips. “And you’re out. I simply mean to go over the fine print of your enslavement.”

“You’re the Devil, then?”

“Devil. Old Scratch. Lucifer. Beelzebub. Satan.” She held her arms out from her body. “Any of them and all of them. In one incarnation or another. Sometimes even Wednesday Addams, but that’s another story.” Her appearance altered slightly with each name spoken aloud. When she was done, she returned to that of the twenty-something nude woman that she had been at the beginning of this conversation. Truthfully, it was the one that scared me the least.

“And what do I call you?”

She smiled oh-so wickedly at my inquiry. “Master. Mistress. Boss. Mommy. Whatever term of respect you feel debases you the most. I have so many wonderful ideas of how we can have some fun. I can’t wait for you to grow up. I’ll mold you into the perfect slave. You’ll worship me as a dutiful minion should… and you’ll love me for it.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to any of this.” I petulantly argued. 

The Devil just grinned. “Well, that is true. There are a few I’s to be crossed and T’s to be dotted. Contracts require signatures, after all.”

“And if I refuse to sign?”

Lucifer nodded as if she had expected me to fight. “I can always put you back in the locker. You would have been in there a lot longer. Hours. Maybe days. You would have suffered so greatly. I don’t mind.”

“But I would have gotten out.”

“Oh, yes, Taylor Anne Hebert. And what a great life you’d have lived. You will Trigger.” At my hopeful gasp, she shook her head. “Bugs. You get to control bugs.” She smiled at the face I must’ve made. “Did you know that Beelzebub means Lord of the Flies?” She giggled cruelly. “Well, sort of. Anyway, you become a villain and eventually kill so many heroes. What a wonderful fate you have, Taylor Anne Hebert. Perhaps you are right. Let’s just put you back in that locker. You’ll be mine, anyway, by the time another so-called hero puts a bullet in your brain.” She began to gesture with her black painted claws/nails. 

I wanted to be sick. A villain? Me? And I killed heroes? “Wait!”

She stopped and arched her perfect brow over at me. “Yessssss?”

Damn it. The Devil knew she had me. I ran over anything and everything that I could think of. “Can we bargain?”

“A bargain?” Smiling as she ran her forked tongue back over her lips. “I’m the Devil. Of course, we can bargain. What do you want?”

“My soul?”

She laughed… and I could hear thunder rolling somewhere far in the distance. “Now, Taylor. I can call you Taylor, yes?” I nodded. “Good. Now, Taylor… I want your soul. I’m willing to offer a lot for it. While you are quite the monster if we put you back in that locker, there are so many more wonderful things we can do together if we let that silly Shard go elsewhere.”

Shard? “What’s a shard?”

“Hm?” She looked into my eyes. “Never mind about that. We have a Bargain to work out now. So, let us say that you agree to make a Deal with me. For coming to the table, I pulled you out of that locker before you could Trigger and gain control of bugs.” She playfully did a full body shiver. “Ugh. Nasty. Anyway, that puts us back to even. I want your soul. What do you want for it?”

At her look, I realized suddenly that we were both sitting down across from one another at a beautiful wooden table. We both sat on very comfortable chairs and there was a parchment between the two of us. I started reading and noted that what she said was exactly what was written. The fact that I could actually read it helped convince me that this wasn’t just some elaborate dream.

“Nope. Not dreaming.”

“Would you stop that? Please.”

Lucifer seemed almost hurt at my tone. “Sorry. Occupational hazard. Too many try to lie to themselves. You can’t lie to the Prince of Lies.”

“Okay.” I offered. I’d hurt the Devil’s feelings. What was my life now? “What can I get for my soul?”

Who asks questions like that?

She smiled. “Well, standard is power. Riches. Love… which, by the way, is not very easy. I can give you lots of lust. I can even fake the love, but between you and me, try that out on your own. Too often, if you get the love without trying, you start to take it for granted and then it’s never pretty.”

“Can I get powers? Like a parahuman? Like Alexandria?”

I watched as she chewed at the quill’s tip. “I guess, though Rebecca cheated to get her powers. I don’t think we want to include those guys. They’re worse than the Catholic Church, and that’s saying something coming from me.” She ran her tongue over her left canine while she seemed to think. “We can definitely duplicate some of those things. Better in some ways, not as good in others.”

“What? Why?”

She sighed. “Free will is a real thing, Taylor. And Alexandria made her so-called deal with a devil elsewhere. If we make you too close to what’s already out there, you might not like what comes after.”

“Oh.” I scratched at my shoulder. All that talk about bugs had me thinking I could feel them crawling all over me. “I don’t understand.”

“Sorry.” She offered. “A lot of that will make sense later. Other things not so much.” She glanced at the parchment in front of her. “Let’s start with an opening offer. How about superhero powers that include… say basic grab bag? Flight, strength and endurance?”

“I get to choose?” At her nod, I smiled. “Flight. Strength. Invincibility.” I stopped. What else could there be? I wracked my brain while I considered the myths and legends my Mom used to tell me about. Those Greek and Norse Gods that were so powerful. Worshipped, even. What else did they have?

“Gods were usually beautiful.” Lucifer offered. At my look, her cheeks blushed slightly. “Sorry. Mindreading comes with the job description.”

“Can I…?”

“No telepathy.” She interrupted. She pointed up. “Rules. Sorry.”

Oh! I had an idea. “Immortality?”

“OOoooh.” She smiled. “Now you’re talking. If you can’t die, then I can never collect on your soul. Tricky, tricky. I like how you’re thinking now. Therefore, that is a big whopping no. I cannot offer true immortality. I can give you a scaled down version. Let us combine a really, really long potential lifespan and tack on eternal youth. That work?”

“Potential?”

“Well, being a hero comes with some dangers. I can’t promise that there might not be things out there that could actually challenge you. The Endbringers, for instance. Even Scion.”

“Scion’s a good guy.” I pointed out. “A hero.”

She looked at me for a few moments before nodding. “Right, right. Well, the Endbringers are definitely a threat.”

I nodded. “So, we have flying and invincibility and long life, plus strength.”

“I guess. What else?”

“Maybe some type of energy blast?”

“A regular Mary Sue, aren’t you? That’s it?” The Devil smiled at me. “So, you ready to sign?”

I looked over the parchment and considered what I was being offered. Escape from my tormentors, out of the locker, powers and beauty…. Wait! I forgot the beauty…

“I want to be beautiful, too.”

She shook her head. “You’re getting greedy now, Taylor. That would be a lot. How about you give up one of the others. With an energy projections, you don’t have to have the enhanced strength.”

I held up my hand. Lucifer stopped talking. “Not enhanced. I want super strength. I want to be powerful. A true force for good.”

“You ever read about Doctor Faustus?” The Devil asked. The name was somewhat familiar, but there were so many heroes in the world now that I couldn’t remember all of them.

“No. Is he a recent hero?”

Lucifer smiled widely at me. “Never mind.” She twirled the quill in her hand. “I’m not some random djinn handing out free wishes, Taylor. This is a Bargain. A Deal between you and me. We both are getting what we want, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good. Now. Let’s make this easier. You want superpowers. Basically, all of them, right?” I nodded. She reached over to the glass pitcher that was now on the table with us. The pitcher was filled with what looked like water. There were also ten tumbler glasses, empty, there as well. “So, this water is your superpowers.” I watched as she grabbed the pitcher and poured some of the liquid into one of the tumblers. “This is super strength.”

I picked up the shot glass. “Okay.”

The Devil then filled the second glass. “Flight.” She waited until I nodded. “See how the pitcher is about half full now? You can have as many powers as you want, but one the pitcher is empty, that’s it.”

I leaned back and considered what she was saying. “Can I put less water in each glass?”

“Sure, but then that power is not as super as it possibly could be. That can be your decision.”

“What about pouring the water back into the pitcher?”

“Pouring…” She frowned cutely. Lucifer closed her eyes for the moment before opening them again. She narrowed her eyes directly at me. I felt the moisture in my mouth dry up before she nodded slowly. “You’re good at this. You sure you do not want to just come work for me right away, skip all this playing super-cops and robbers. I have a great dental plan.”

I shook my head. “Can I do that?”

She waved her hand a there were now only half as many tumblers on the table, but now each was of varying size. “Okay.” The pitcher was smaller now, too. “The water is your power. The glasses can be almost anything you need or want them to be. Put in as little or as much as you want, but understand the limitations of using each alone or combined together.”

“How will I know?”

“You’ll need to learn, Taylor. Bargain, not wishes. Remember?”

Feeling properly chastised, I offered the Devil a small nod in agreement. I watched as she picked up the quill and starting marking through several lines and adding the changes we’d made so far. “Fine.” She continued to mumble under her breath before marking through up our Agreement. I watched carefully until she was done. “There.”

“What about beauty?”

“Taylor.” I watched as she leaned back in the chair. I tried to keep my gaze on her face, but my eyes darted to where her breasts bounced. Sue me. “Youi can use your power however you want.”

“No offense, but I don’t to suddenly turn hideous because I need to use a few powers at once.”

Lucifer sighed as she set the quill down. Watching as she leaned back in her chair, she ran her clawed hands through her hair. “I thought you wanted to be a hero?”

“I do.” I confirmed. “But there are other things I want, too.”

“There has to be payment. Your Soul is buying you many superpowers. And Beauty, too. What else are you offering? You want to throw in the Souls of a few others? Emma Barnes or Sophia Hess? They aren’t worth much… not like yours, but it would be a good start.”

“Is there anything I can offer still?”

She hummed a few moments before she put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. “Less free will when you return, maybe. A few hiccups with your powers. It’s all about balance. You being this powerful changes things for the good in most instances. Mary Sue’s are not normally appreciated in the greater scheme of things. A true hero suffers. They have to overcome a lot.” She arched an eyebrow at me. “You willing to suffer for the greater good?”

“I am.” Boy, I sounded confident, Didn’t I? Let’s hope I had what it took to pull it off.

She offered a small smile. “It will hurt, Taylor. And you won’t know what all is coming until it’s done. You are ticking off every box of the Seven Deadly Sins. Greed, Vanity, Pride… you’re a good girl at heart. It is why I value your Soul so much.”

“We could play a game for it.” I offered.

Her entire demeanor perked up at my statement. “You don’t play violin, by chance, do you?” I loved her smile. “I play a pretty mean fiddle, you know. Or a blues guitar? You play? Music is always a great way to duel.”

“No doubt.” I offered wryly. “What about a challenge.”

“You’re going to challenge me?”

“Sure.”

She slowly was shaking her head back and forth. “Taylor, I may be evil… and I definitely stack the deck to my favor, but you can’t win a challenge against me.”

“I can.” I decided to go for broke. “Give me all that I want if I win. Full stop.”

“Listen… no, Taylor... you’ve got a…”

“You can take the long lifespan and another tumbler away if I lose.” 

She stopped arguing at that offer. Lucifer’s eyes went cat-like as she stared into my eyes. “So, you’d only keep eternal youth and beauty, using the pitcher for anything else with just four tumblers?”

“Yes.”

“At enhanced level only?” She countered. 

The tumblers all were suddenly much smaller. I took a really, really deep breath. Here goes everything. “Yes.”

She held out her hand. “Shake on it.” I immediately grasped the Devil’s hand in mine. If she noticed how badly I was shaking, or the wetness in my palm, she didn’t remark on it. “Okay. What’s the challenge?”

“I bet I can give you a command that you cannot fulfil.”

I hated how beautiful Lucifer looked as she tilted her head to the side. “That’s impossible, Taylor. You have already lost. I am a cosmic entity. I was here before the Universe began… and I will be here long after it is gone. There is not a creature that has once lived that I do not know of. No time that I cannot revisit. No dream I have not already dreamt. No nightmare I have not seen. I have witnessed the Face of God. I am sorry, Taylor. I know the future just as well as the past and the present.” I watched as the Devil moved to start making the appropriate changes to our contract.

“Hey.” I spoke softly. I waited until she moved her gaze to mine. “Get lost.”

“…”

“…”

“What?”

I smiled. “I said, get lost, Mistress.” I ignored how she snarled when I called her that. “Now.”

The Devil sat there, still, as she contemplated my command. I watched as she opened her mouth to say something, before closing it shut. My eyes followed her as she stood and walked around the table. I wondered if she’d pop away, but Lucifer began to pace, back and forth. This continued for what might have been hours, but was most likely just a few scant moments. I began to worry, but Lucifer finally turned to press her crimson gaze towards mine.

I let a breath out at her smile. “Well done, Taylor. Very well done.” She gestured to the parchment. At my look, I was very pleased to see the Contract was now much, much larger. All of the things I wanted… even those things not spoken aloud, were listed. It looked perfect. “You see that you won. You get to be added to a very, very select few that have beaten me. Know that your trick can never be used again.”

I let out the breath I had been holding. “I understand.”

“Please sign.”

I picked up the quill and quickly wrote out my name. Once I finished, the Devil took the quill and carefully poked my finger, allowing for a single drop of blood to splatter over my signature. My eyes widened slightly as my middle and last name faded from view. I watched as the parchment began to glow before it blinked away.

“Okay. So, what’s next?”

“Next?” Lucifer smiled. “I have to have my revenge, you understand.” At my look, she nodded. “All those powers at varying levels that you can play with. You are going to make some very major changes to the timeline. It’s going to be so much fun, but I have to get mine back, you see. No one is allowed to get one over on me without retribution.”

“But…”

“Don’t freak out on me, Taylor.” She smiled. “You’re still my current favorite. We are going to have so much fun… but I can’t let you off without putting you in your place.”

“Oh.” I swallowed loudly. “What are you going to do?”

“Understand.” My body was frozen in place. I watched as she leaned over, her face filling my vision. “There were several things that you should have asked for… like, for instance, defining who and what you would become. When. Or deciding where and how this would all begin.”

“What?” 

Lucifer kissed me then. My first kiss was with the Devil. As I said before, I often wondered exactly how I seemed to always draw the short straw in life… now maybe death. As Lucifer pulled away from me. I looked upon my own visage. Seeing me, Taylor, smiling with such an evil smirk seemed wrong, somehow. I wanted to question what was happening, but that’s when the pain began. A fire from where her lips touched mine, where her tongue had invaded my mouth, now spread from my lips to cover my entire face… then my neck and shoulders… my chest. I was already screaming by the time I thought to open my mouth.

“Good luck, my child. My avatar upon the Mortal World…”

..oo00OO*OO00oo..

“What do you suggest, then?” A voice spoke from somewhere nearby. I didn’t recognize it, so I decided to ignore it for now. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find the pain all gone. Maybe my meeting with Mistress was all just a dream. Mistress? Why was I thinking Mistress when I meant to think Mistress? No, Mistress. Oh, Mistress! I licked at my lips and suddenly stopped the motion.

Why did my tongue feel forked?

Oh, Mistress, this was bad. Opening my eyes carefully, I repeatedly blinked due to the brightness all around me. I seemed to be laying on the floor, somewhere that I was not immediately familiar with, and apparently surrounded by several persons that were all too familiar to anyone that watched television or read the news or was generally alive and aware in Brockton Bay.

“Um, hi?” 

I watched as Assault, one of Brockton Bay’s Protectorate, knelt down to where I was currently laying. “Ma’am.” He offered politely. “Do you require assistance?”

“Uh, well… maybe?” I responded. 

The hero nodded. “Well, we have EMT’s on the way, though they might refuse to take you, considering…”

“Considering?”

Assault’s partner and supposed wife if the PHO could be trusted, Battery, approached. She carefully covered me with a blanket. “Ma’am. While we wait, could you answer a few questions?”

I lifted my hand to brush my hair from my face. As I moved the hair to the side, I felt a small horn protruding from the side of my head. I tried to not freak out as I used both hands to feel the horns that grew out from my temples, just as Mistress’ had, though much smaller. A sick feeling seemed to cause my stomach to rumble. Mistress had been beautiful. Super beautiful, in fact… and I hadn’t specified anything, had I?

“Are you okay?”

At Battery’s question, I offered a shrug. Not very easy to do when one is laying down. “Maybe?” I sighed. “Do you have a mirror?”

“A mirror?” She repeated. “Do you…”

“Please.” I interrupted. I felt moisture beginning to fill the corners of my eyes. At her sympathetic look, I tried to smile. “Yeah.”

She and Assault shared a silent exchange before he ran off, most likely to get me a mirror. I watched as the Protectorate hero licked her lips. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

I wanted to laugh. Remember? I made a deal with my Mistress. Yeah, no way that saying any of that wouldn’t get me locked up in the looney bin. My Mistress went down to Georgia. I silently sang in my head. I let the tears trail down my face. “Uhm. School, maybe.”

“School?” She asked. Battery glanced around. I had no advantage to see anything that she was seeing currently. “Do you go to Immaculata High School?”

Immaculata? 

What? 

I started to reply in the negative, but Assault decided to perfectly interrupt anything I might say by returning, the requested mirror in his hand. “I got this from the lady cop over by the front door. She wants it back, if possible.”

Battery nodded and took the makeup mirror and opened it. “May I?” At her inquiry, I simply nodded. She carefully turned it so that I could get a good look at my current reflection. 

I was nude but for the blanket Battery had provided. Perfect complexion from what I could see was a long and graceful neck that drifted towards a heart-shaped face. My lips were full and pouty, stained a perfect shade darker than the rest of my pale skin. Long, dark lashes both above and below those demonically crimson eyes. Black hair, though not a natural shade since it seemed to absorb the light, no highlights reflecting from its shade. And there, just as I’d felt previously… those horns that had so fascinated me on Mistress’ head… now my head, just smaller. It was Mistress that I saw in the mirror. A younger version. I was still a teenager – a demon teenager.

I licked my lips and saw the forked tongue.

“Not what you were expecting?”

I shook my head. “Not at all.” Shifting slightly, I almost jerked in surprise as the tail… my tail, swept out from under the blanket. “Oh.”

Battery glanced to my tail. “You said you remember school?” At my nod, she smiled. “Do you know what day it is?”

“January tenth, maybe?” When she frowned, I knew that I’d gotten wrong. “Maybe not?”

She started to say something, but the EMT’s that they’d promised earlier had finally arrived. “We’ll talk later.” She offered as she patted my hand. I watched as she stood and stepped back. The Emergency Personnel took over then, carefully moving me onto the gurney and taking me to… somewhere.

Once they began moving me, I was able to see that I was in what appeared to be the shouldering remains of a high school. Immaculata was my guess considering Assault and Batter’s questions. A demon found in the ruins of a Church sponsored school. Who would have ever thought of that?

I wondered if they considered me the cause.

My start as a near immortal superhero was off to a wonderful start.

..oo00OO*OO00oo..

Standing in front of the two-way mirror, doing my best to ignore the fact that there were most likely a number of people on the other side, all watching me – evaluating me, well, it did very little to inspire any pleasant feelings. I had been waiting for nearly thirty minutes for this interview (i.e., investigation) to begin. I carefully turned and made sure everything looked okay. Getting pants to fit properly when one has a tail is not the easiest thing to have made. 

That’s not even taking into account that my toenails were just as sharp and pointy as the claws at the end of each finger. No shoes could survive my lack of a good pedicure. I glanced down at me feet, admiring how the scales caught the light. Apparently, demons like me had scales placed carefully in places all along my body. The tops of my hands and feet, elbows, knees. Along the back of my neck down my spine all the way to the tip of my tail. My stomach, which no longer had a bellybutton, scales covered from the top of my sex to the underside of my breasts… a respectable B cup, now. I was a demonic dragon teenager. Forked tongue, tail and horns with claws of hands and feet. 

At least I looked good. That was only partly sarcastic. Don’t get me wrong, Mistress’ body… my body now, was amazing. Everyone seemed to lust after me, and I adored the attention, but I began to understand why Mistress preferred to be nude. Maybe I could fight crime in a string bikini.

Where was my modesty?

Just because I now was in the perfect body of a teenager did not mean I was not still a barely fifteen-year-old girl inside. Right?

Right?

Any further inner reflection faded away as the door finally opened. I smiled as I saw that one of the people they were going to speak with me was Battery. It had been nearly a week since my return from making a bargain with Mistress. And I had learned very little in that time. Since I had been left in near seclusion while they confirmed that I was uninjured. 

I offered her a bright smile that she immediately returned. I almost missed that Miss Militia followed in right behind her.

“Oh, wow.” I hated how fan-girly I sounded. “Miss Militia, too. I’m a big fan.”

At my words, both woman looked at one another before each turned and offered me a smile. Battery spoke first as both she and her fellow Protectorate member sat at the table. “How are you doing?”

“I’m better. Truthfully, I feel great.”

“That’s good.” I watched as Miss Militia handed Battery a file. From where I was standing, I could see a few scant papers with words typed with several photographs underneath. “Would you like to sit?”

I moved to the table and turned the chair sideways. I daintily say, my legs crossed, sitting with my butt far enough back that my tail wasn’t trapped.

“You okay?”

At Miss Militia’s question, I shrugged. “Learning to sit with a tail takes practice, I guess.”

“You haven’t had a tail long?”

I shook my head. “When I woke up was when I realized I had one.”

“A fifty-three?” Battery quietly offered. I watched as Miss Militia shrugged and said “maybe.”

‘Let’s go back to that day, if you don’t mind.” Battery said. I silently nodded. “You indicated that the date was…?”

“January tenth.”

“Of?”

“Of?” I glanced between the two women. “Twenty eleven?”

“You’re saying that you believed that you woke up on Monday, January tenth of twenty eleven. That’s correct?”

Nodding again, I started to explain my reasoning. “Well, I think I was at school that Friday, the seventh. I’m not sure what all happened that day, but since I don’t usually do anything except stay home on the weekends and I was obviously somewhere not at home, then Monday seemed the most likely date.”

I wondered again about telling them the truth about who I was and maybe what I’d been through, but every time I opened my mouth to say that… it was like trying to call Mistress anything other than Mistress. My mind wanted to say the words, but what came out was something different. I technically couldn’t even think the words other than what came out. 

“Am I wrong?”

Instead of answering, Miss Militia leaned forward. “What do you remember from before? What can you tell me about your school? Or how about telling me where you live. A family member’s name, perhaps.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but my mind went blank. Why couldn’t I just say that my name was Taylor. Wait! I thought Taylor. “My name’s Taylor.”

“Taylor?” Battery smiled as she wrote my name down. “That’s good, Taylor. Taylor what?”

“Taylor…” And then my mind blanked. “Taylor…”

Miss Militia nodded. “It’s okay.” She offered in a kind voice. “It sometimes happens that those that Trigger cannot recall events from before. It often happens especially with those that can no longer hide their changes.”

“Hide?”

Battery made a gesture towards me. “You know that you changed, right?” I met her gaze directly. “You are possibly the most beautiful female I have ever seen, bar none, but you definitely cannot pass for a normal human being now.” I lifted my hand to run along the horn on the right side of my head. She nodded. “Black horns. The tail. Your fingernails seem to be naturally black and are more like claws than nails. 

“And that hair color?” Battery continued. “I’d pay a month’s salary for a dye job close to that color. You’re like a wet dream devil from an Earth Aleph comic book.”

“Sorry,”

Both women waved the apology away. “We just want to get answers.”

“I don’t know what to offer. I still don’t know if what I’m telling you is right or wrong. And I want to answer your questions. I do. It’s like the words are there, but nothing comes out.”

Miss Militia lifted a hand to her ear. I assumed she was getting instructions from someone on the other side of the glass that was watching. I waited patiently until the one-sided conversation seemed to be over. I watched as the star-spangled masked woman nodded towards Battery.

“Well.” She began. “Let’s start with some of the basics. The date is Wednesday, June twenty-third.” I’d lost months? “Of twenty-oh-nine.” Wait. What? I had gained a year and a half?”

“No…”

Miss Militia was nodding while Battery continued. “We are supposing, currently, that you came from a different Earth, though there have been no reports of any dimensional breaches surrounding the date of your… arrival.”

Why had she paused?

“This is Earth Bet, right?”

Battery nodded. “You remember being from this Earth?”

I nodded, though much slower than previous. “I thought so…”

“Anyway, as we stated earlier, there are several instances where people have Triggered and their memories are lost. Maybe in your case, just scrambled.” Battery offered with a smile when I looked at her. “That you know your first name and remember going to school and things like that are good. You recognized me and Miss Militia, right? Other, too, I imagine.”

“Assault.” I nearly whispered. “Your husband, maybe?”

She grimaced. “Yeah, but we would rather keep that on the down low, okay?” After I nodded, she smiled again.

“I think I know all the Protectorate and Wards in Brockton Bay.”

“You’re from Brockton Bay?” Miss Militia asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Fugley Bob’s down on the Boardwalk. Arcadia and Winslow High. The Rig.” I paused and looked at them both. “The Boat Graveyard. This is my home.”

“You said you know all of the Wards?”

At Miss Militia’s question, I smiled. “Sure. I always wished I had chosen to attend Arcadia. Imagine having classes with Vista and Kid Win. Shadow Stalker or Browbeat. Clockblocker, even. And then Panacea and Glory Girl of New Wave…”

I stopped when I noticed the looks they were giving one another. I kept switching my gaze back and forth between the two women. “What?”

“You said Shadow Stalker was a Ward?” Miss Militia asked. “She’s a vigilante.”

My head was already nodding. “Yeah. It was fairly big news for a while. She got caught hurting a guy and she chose to join up with the Wards instead of jail, I think. Probation or something. She kept her name, but you guys rebranded her costume and weapons.”

“And Kid One, you said.” Battery offered while Miss Militia was back on her earpiece.

“Win. Kid Win. He’s a Tinker. Rides a floating skateboard. Armor similar to Hero’s. Pretty cool guy, I think.”

Battery smiled encouragingly. “And New Wave accepted new members, you mentioned?”

“I guess they had to.” I shrugged. “Victoria is Glory Girl, after all. Her sister, Amy, goes by Panacea.”

“What do they do?” Miss Militia asked. “Do you know?”

“Sure. Glory Girl is an Alexandria level. Flyer with strength and invulnerability.” Battery was writing quickly writing down everything I was saying. “Lights up the sky, bright as a star. Her sister, though. Amy?” At the two heroes’ nods, I continued. “She’s the world’s greatest Healer.”

“A Healer?” Battery asked.

“Yep. Everything but brains, as the PHO reported it. Really made a name for herself after healing so many heroes during the aftermath of the Simurgh’s attack in Madison.”

“What?!?” Battery yelped while Miss Militia stood, her chair crashing to the floor behind her. Why I noticed how the holster on her hip kept cycling through various guns and knives, I could not tell you. It frightening, however. “An Endbringer attack?”

“Oh, shit.” My eyes widened at the implications of what I had just revealed. How much of what I was saying hadn’t happened yet? I started to speak when the door behind them thrust open violently as Armsmaster stormed into the room. “It hasn’t happened yet.” I repeated aloud. “None of it.”

“You know when the next Endbringer attack is happening?”

I shrugged. “I think so. It’s what I remember.”

“What can you tell me? Now, girl!”

“Uh, December this year. I can’t remember the day. Third, maybe.” I closed my eyes trying to recall as much information as I could. “Madison, Wisconsin. Heroes drove the Simurgh away, but the city got quarantined. Like I said earlier, it was considered a major victory since Panacea was able to heal so many of the heroes that got hurt. Also, Dragon revealed a new suit of some sort. Those close to it were able to fight longer somehow.”

Even with his visor, I could feel the man’s gaze upon me. Judging me. After a moment, he nodded and turned to where both Battery and Miss Militia were staring at me. “I want to know everything she might know about the next eighteen months. Crimes, newspaper headlines. I want to know everything. Once that’s done, get her tested and then we need to start making plans. If this pans out, this could be the break we’ve been looking for.”

And then, just as violently as he had entered the room, I watched one of the greatest Tinkers in the world walk out. It was all I could do to catch my breath.

“Okay!” Battery clapped her hands together, the sharp crack pulling my attention away from where the hero had just exited. “Why don’t we get all that done, but maybe in a different order. Power testing, yeah? Now let’s have some fun. You up for it, Taylor?”

“Yeah.”

A year and a half ago. I time travelled. Was I still alive… out there… now… as… well… me?

Now if I could only remember my home address.

..oo00OO*OO00oo..


	4. This is Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another one-shot while I take a breath between chapters of "Paper Doll"
> 
> Enjoy...

March 22, 2011

“No. That’s an easy question.” I leaned back in the chair. “The first time it happened was on Friday, January twenty-seventh.”

“You’re sure?”

I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. Like anyone could forget the day they triggered. If I hadn’t have been locked in my school locker for as long as I apparently had been, I’m pretty sure I could have given the exact time, as well. “You’ve never Triggered, have you?”

The older man that sat across from me visibly started. “I… no. I have not.”

Nodding, I reached for the plastic bottle of soda that they had offered. Some off brand of Dr. Pepper. You’d think they’d spring for the good stuff considering. After taking a swallow, I sighed. “I know you’ve read the police reports. All of that was given over to the PRT once they realized I had gained powers, you know? You’re… what? The fifth guy they’ve sent to interview me since it happened?”

“I wouldn’t know…”

“I would.” I interrupted. “I bet every interview since the second one. Maybe even the first one. They’ve all been recorded. If not just audio. Video, too.”

My interviewer seemed to be slowly losing his cool. His forehead was gaining a bit of redness. Ears, as well. I started to wonder how hard it would be to make him lose his temper, but I really wanted to talk to my Dad at some point. The guy I had spoken to before this one had told me I would see my Dad if I cooperated… and I was, cooperating, that is. But I could only answer the same question with the same answer so many times.

“Taylor.” He said my name softly, almost like he really cared. The woman standing next to the door behind him was still, like a statue. “The bodies…”

“Right. You mean my corpses.”

He grimaced. “Yes, Taylor. You have to understand that, so far, there are seven corpses at the Brockton Bay Morgue, each that has been positively identified as being Taylor Anne Hebert, age fifteen.” He pressed a finger down on the photographs in front of him… each showing…well, me. Dead. “Who am I talking to?”

“As I was telling you, I am Taylor Anne Hebert. On Friday, January seventh, I was forcibly shoved and trapped inside of my school locker. I’m pretty sure it was Sophia Hess and Emma Barnes that did it, but I can’t say that one hundred percent. Maybe they got someone else to do it, but they were behind it.” I took a deep breath. “The locker was nasty. It’s there in the report, so I am not going to explain about that anymore.”

“Taylor…”

“What I will say, again, is that I hit my head really hard. I was dizzy and kept throwing up. I started gagging and couldn’t call for help… no one would help.”

“And then?”

I barely held back the laugh that threatened to come out. “And then? I blacked out for a moment and then I was in the school gym’s swimming pool. I had no idea how I’d gotten there or what time it was, but I was a few feet under the surface. After a minute, I collected myself to realize that I was naked as the day I was born. I got out of the pool and made my way over to the gym lockers where I broke into a few lockers to get something to wear and then used the coach’s office phone to call my Dad.”

“When did you realize that something was wrong?”

“Really?” I took another sip of the soda. “That three days had passed? Or that my Dad had already been down to the morgue to identify my dead body?” I reached over and pulled one of the photographs from the file. “Which wrong thing are we talking about?”

He ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair. “You know very well…”

“Please!” I nearly screamed at the man. As it was, my voice was loud enough that the woman adjusted her stance. I wasn’t restrained, but she wasn’t there for my safety. “Not so much worried about me, the girl that supposedly died due to school bullying? Or that my Dad was inconsolable? No, you’d rather hear how a couple of Wards attacked me coming out of the school… a school that had been closed off as a crime scene. My murder scene. You want to talk about how Shadow Stalker shot me in the chest with an arrow, killing me again.”

“Taylor, please.” He tried talking softly, but I was too pissed to care. 

“And then I woke up three days later in that same swimming pool.” I continued. “I made it almost the entire way home before those gangbangers decided I was an easy mark for whatever. I got in a few good hits before I got blindsided, hit from behind. I guess I’d gotten far enough away from the school that the swimming pool was out. I found myself in some skanky, run down hotel’s pool.” I shuddered. “Ick.”

My interviewer nodded. He picked up three photographs from a different file. “David Monroe, aka, Deuce. Lee Faulkner, aka, Dusty. And Marvin Mako, no alias. Three low level Merchants. All found murdered. Their bodied looted. Items later found to be in your possession.”

I nodded. “Self-defense. Three guys came upon a naked girl alone in a nasty swimming pool in their territory. They didn’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“They had multiple signs of blunt force trauma, though no weapon has been located.”

‘Yeah. Just me and my fists.” I paused a moment to reflect. “I think I kicked them a few times, too.” I waited to just as he opened his mouth before moving on. “I’m pretty sure by this point I started to realize that I had Triggered and gained some power. Strength, at least, not counting the coming back from the dead.”

“I’m sure.” He offered wryly. I just shrugged. “And then?”

“And then I carefully made my way home.”

He snorted. I offered a small smile. “Where you then engaged two Protectorate members in a fight.”

“I didn’t want to fight them.” I argued. “They wouldn’t let me inside to see my Dad. They had no right to keep me from my home.”

“So, you thought throwing Dauntless over thirty feet across the street as an appropriate action?”

“I was hungry.” I hated how small my voice sounded. “To me, barely a couple of hours had passed since I’d been shoved into that locker. Nothing made sense. The snow from that Friday was melted. Daylight had vanished into darkness and back to day. I kept waking up naked and in water. I just wanted to go home.”

“And how did that work out for you?”

I sighed. “Armsmaster apparently killed me.”

The man across the table sighed loudly. “And one of the City’s best and brightest is under investigation for using excessive force on a minor that resulted in her ‘maybe’ death.” I opened my mouth to say something, but he kept talking. “Whether you are ultimately alive or not, we have a body, your body, at the morgue that is there due to his actions. Whether Armsmaster is convicted or not, he has lost his position as leader of the Protectorate here in Brockton Bay. His reputation is… well, he will most likely be moved to another city.”

“Yeah.”

He nodded. “And then you woke up where?”

“A neighbor’s pool. About a block and a half from my home.”

“So, we now have your body from the locker.” He set the photo I’d grabbed earlier to the side. “And then your encounter with the Wards.” Another photograph. “And then the attack by gang members.” A third picture. “And now from outside your house.” A fourth photo went on the pile. “That’s four.”

I sat quietly. Waiting. 

“Twelve days.” He took a deep breath before picking up the next photo. “What happened on January nineteenth?”

I considered my words carefully. I had already explained everything so many times. What more could I say? “That’s the day I…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Note or two…
> 
> Anyone ever watch Forever? It was a cool show that involved a person that kept coming back to life every time he died. The gimmick that I loved was that when he woke up, he was naked and in a large body of water. Sadly, it only got twelve episodes and why he appeared in water was never really explained… nor was why he kept coming back from the dead. Huh.
> 
> My plan here was that she kept getting stronger (maybe more powers) every time she died and came back. I also added the three days bit and that Taylor kept leaving a corpse behind.


	5. I was Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a fun little idea. I almost considered using this Taylor power set instead of the one currently running in Paper Doll as an ongoing story. I might still, though the scene would have to be cleaned up.
> 
> Enjoy.

“You realize that they’re going to lock you up, right?” 

I lifted my gaze from staring at the table and glanced over to where Teddy stood leaning against the wall. Several responses flittered through my head before I decided on continuing with how I’d dealt with him since he’d made himself known to me three weeks ago. Was it just weeks? Damn. I ignored him.

“You get that you’re screwed?”

“Leave off, Theodore.” Kate spoke from somewhere behind me. 

“I’ve told you, don’t call me Theodore.” Teddy raised his voice. “Only my Mama calls me that.”

“Leave him be, Kate.” Miles spoke from the chair he was sitting in to my left. “You’re just gonna piss Taylor off if you two start fighting again.”

“We won’t”

“You will.” He sighed. “You two always argue.”

I ignored the banter, especially considering Laura and Victor began chanting “fight, fight, fight” repeatedly. Those two were always itching for anything to alleviate their boredom. I knew that if something did not change soon, they’d pull Molly and Billy into their childish antics.

“Please.” I spoke up. I didn’t yell, but everyone stopped to look my way. I guess there was maybe one benefit to being in charge, though with all of the negatives that came with it, I would most definitely rather have something else to do. “Can we try and keep quiet for a few minutes? I don’t want there to be chaos when they finally send someone in to talk. Okay?”

Miles crossed his arms with a satisfied smirk on his face. I ignored him and looked over to where Topher was staring at the ceiling above me and to the right. “You know they’re watching right now, yeah?” I glanced to where he indicated. Sure enough, there was a camera pointed directly at me… the little red light blinking.

I sighed. 

Great.

“Well, a psychiatric hospital is better than The Bird Cage, huh?” Teddy offered.

I returned my gaze to the young man. So unassuming looking in this form. I nodded slowly. “Sure, I guess.” I admitted. “But I doubt that any court is going to consider that with what we did.”

“We?” Molly asked.

I smiled at the young girl. Barely a teen. Even younger than me, currently. “Fair enough. Me. What I did. But they should take into account that it was Lung, you know? He was a villain.”

“Sure.” America offered. “But there wasn’t a Kill Order on him. Murder is murder.”

“And you’re a murderer now, lass.” Bee spoke up with a smile. I hated when he smiled. “Just face facts that you are a part of the group now and let’s get this show on the road.”

“Leave off, man.” Dani spoke up in my defense. “Taylor can make up her own mind.”

“If she has a mind left.” Victor grumbled. “It always ends the same, doesn’t it? She has to face the inevitable eventually.”

“Okay. Everyone just be quiet.”

At my order, everyone stopped talking. Molly and Kamala turned to face away from me, both sulking. Kate, America and Laura offered me pitying looks. The others just crossed their arms over their chests and glared... well, all of them except Bee. Bee just continued smiling.

I really hated that smile.

How was I going to get out of this? It wasn’t like I had gone out looking for trouble, especially not to get into a ‘fight to the death’ match with Lung of all people. Couldn’t a girl just find a nice, quiet and secluded spot to practice using the parahuman powers that she had gotten after being stuck in a locker at school? Shoved into a locker by three bitchy teenage girls that had nothing better to do in their boring lives but to torment me?

Huh?

And so what if being stuck in that locker was maybe the only thing that saved me when a major Cape battle was taking place at said school? 

Yeah? 

Any further inner reflection was cut off when the door finally opened. I watched as five people entered into the room, each wearing a very disapproving look on their faces. The first three were obviously recognizable. Armsmaster, Miss Militia and Alexandria walked into the room. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were most likely here to condemn me, I would have been fan-girling like nobody’s business. 

“Oh, please.” Bee sneered. I pointedly ignored him.

After the three Heroes entered, I glanced at a squat sort of woman, blonde, and looking much like I often pictured Delores Umbridge might have appeared. Behind her walked a tall, thin man that smiled in a way that reminded me of Bee. The woman and man sat. The three Heroes took places in three of the room’s corners, each forcing Laura, Victor and Molly to move from where they had each been standing. The looks they tossed at the Heroes, each would have been dead if their glares could kill. Thankfully, they could not.

“Miss Hebert.” The woman now sitting across from me spoke. “I‘m Director Emily Piggot.”

“Nice to meet you, I guess.” I offered into the silence of her introduction.

I watched as she nodded. “Likewise.” After I nodded, she continued. “Miss Hebert…”

“You can call me Taylor.”

The woman shot me an annoyed look before continuing. “Miss Hebert, I am going to be very frank with you. We have a lot of dead bodies appearing all along Brockton Bay. Bodies that have mostly been identified as Parahumans. Excluding the normals that have mostly been identified as being affiliated with one or more of the gangs that are known to plague our city, there are several Parahumans that were considered extreme cases.”

“What’s an extreme case?” I asked. If she was surprised at my question, Director Piggot did not show it. In fact, she seemed rather pleased that I had posed the question.

“An extreme case is a Parahuman or group of Parahumans that a branch of Law Enforcement has had classified as being a threat. Now, before you jump to one conclusion or another, the use of the word threat can be misleading.”

“I am considered an extreme case.” Alexandria spoke up from her corner of the room.

“Exactly.” The Director smiled, though it did not reach her eyes. “No one here doubts that Alexandria is on the side of right, but due to her powers and abilities, the United States Government classified has as an extreme case. It wasn’t for any deep dark reason other than her being who she is and what she can do.”

“Okay.” I offered, not really sure what else to say, I ignored as best as I could the various scoffs and snorts from those around me. I really wish everyone would quiet down so I could pay attention.

“Miss Hebert, you have been, in one way or another, involved with the deaths of almost all of the extreme cases over the past month.” She took a breath. “I want to understand how you fit into all of this.”

I considered lying. Kate and Billy both were offering some really good excuses that sounded believable, but Alexandria was here. Armsmaster and Miss Militia. These were the heroes that she had always looked up to. Wanted to become.

“I’m a Cape.”

Both the Director and the thin man nodded. Director Piggot smiled. Kinda. “Good, Miss Hebert. I appreciate you not trying to lie about this. We are here to help.” She glanced over to Miss Militia, considering that she was the one standing behind me. “When did you gain your powers?”

“Careful.” Molly offered from where she was standing. “Are you going to trust them with this?”

“It’s a trap.” Victor offered. 

“Be careful, Taylor.” Dani spoke up as well. “No one likes us.”

“I assume I got powers on January Eleventh.”

Whooop! Whoop! Red alert! Wrong answer. Oh, so wrong. I should have listened to everyone. The moment I said the date, I could see both Armsmaster and Alexandria stiffen. He even tightened his grip on the cylindrical object he held in his right hand. The single member of the Triumvirate in the room tensed noticeable.

“Miss Militia’s knife just turned into a gun.” Laura offered. 

Kamala nodded. “We’re ready.”

All the people around me readied themselves, all of them were alert and offering their powers to me. It was all I could do to refuse the offerings and stay focused on the woman talking to me.

“Were you at Winslow High?”

I nodded. “I was.”

Director Piggot turned to the man next to her. He was busily tapping at the tablet in his hand, his every movement screaming of tension. “Thomas?”

He sighed. “No records of Hebert on location at the time.”

“I was there.”

“I’m not doubting you, Miss Hebert, but you have to understand that a claim of being at Winslow High School on the date in question is…”

“Problematic.” Alexandria offered.

The Director nodded. Yes. Problematic. Exactly.” I felt pinned to my seat form the glare she shot towards me. “Do you understand why?”

I licked at my lips. “I’d say due to The Butcher being there.”

“Yes. That is definitely part of it.” She leaned forward. “Did you know that The Butcher died that day? We’ve kept it out of the general media, but rumors are already circulating. Were you aware?”

I nodded.

Director Piggot copied the movement. “And how do you know that The Butcher died, Miss Hebert?”

“Fuck this cunt.” Bee snarled. “Just tell her and then let’s get this party started.”

“I hate to agree, Taylor, but this is about to get ugly.” Laura offered.

I considered responding, but Armsmaster spoke up. “I am more interested in who you’ve been conversing with since we put you in this room. I’ve been monitoring all frequencies and there is no signal coming in or out of this room.”

“I don’t…”

“Please do not start lying now, Miss Hebert.” The blonde woman nearly snarled. “Just admit it.”

“Fine.” I thought my voice sounded defeated, but everyone in the room acted as if I had just threatened to blow up an elementary school full of kids. “You already know, so fine. On the day that The Butcher died at Winslow, I was trapped inside of the locker next to where he fell.”

“Inside…?”

At Miss Militia’s exclamation, I turned and looked at her. “Yeah. I was trapped right there next to all of the action. I could hear all of the gunshots, the screams and everything else. I was stuck inside a small metal box while Hell was happening outside.” I took a deep breath. “And then there was something else. I had a waking dream about a monster telling me it was going to be okay.”

“What?” 

Armsmaster motioned for the Director to not ask anything further.

“I just wanted friends, you know? I was all alone and no one cared about me and then suddenly, I knew that I would never be alone again.”

“Ugh!” Teddy rolled his eyes over beside Bee. “I hate this girlie shit. Let’s get to fighting.”

“What happened, Taylor?” Alexandria asked.

Choosing to avoid the gazes of the people on the other side of the table, I reached my left hand out and felt Dani grab mine. Her power filled me and I offered a slight shrug. “I guess I’m the new Butcher.” The power of the once hero that had been the fifth Butcher allowed the creation of illusions. I smiled as the fourteen previous Capes to bear my now name all appeared for all to see.

Bee seemed the happiest at their now terrified looks. “Hi. Wanna play?”

“William Butcher. The first Butcher.” Alexandria whispered. 

“That I am, love.” He waved his hand towards where the hero stood. 

“Hey, Hannah.” Miles spoke from his seat next to me. “Good to see you up and about. Almost the last of the original Wards, huh?”

“Aracna-Boy?” He smiled and nodded to the American Flag masked Cape. “It’s me. Well, kinda.”

“What are you doing?” Director Piggot was now standing by the door. 

I shrugged as I gestured to the now full room. My side greatly outnumbered all of them. In the room, but possibly in the entire building. Maybe even in Brockton Bay itself. “Yeah, Dani…” 

“Psyche.” She interrupted.

“Sorry.” I offered the illusion of the former villain. “Psyche here can create illusions of the voices inside my head. Neat, huh? As a very special bonus, we all agree that when I Triggered that my desire of friends made me a Master. I can create Projections. So far, just fourteen of them, but Psyche can overlap the image of each of them. It allows them to live again, sorta.”

“Jeez-us.” Armsmaster spoke, his weapon tightly gripped in his hand.

Nodding, I continued. “Better, yet, I seem to be able to allow each of them full use of their individual powers.”

“That would mean…”

I smiled at Alexandria. “That you are all currently in a room with all fifteen Butchers? Yeah.” From the side, I could see Teddy slowly transforming into the giant brute that his power caused him to become when he was ready to fight. Kamala was slowly shifting into a better fight form. Katie had a bow now and was readying an arrow. “So, what exactly did you want to talk to me about?

“Yes, please.” Topher flashed his fangs in a dangerous smile. “Let’s begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I based the names of the previous Butchers around the Young Avengers and other teenaged teams from Marvel Comics. In some cases, I tried to match powers with established characters, as well as attitudes – excepting that most of them would have been villains instead of heroes. I also decided to throw in a few random powers for those that went unlisted. My thoughts were:
> 
> 01 Butcher Butcher Strength, Endurance, Cause Pain at a Distance  
> 02 Alucard Topher (Vampire) See Cardiovascular System  
> 03 Aracna-Boy Miles (Spider-Man) Strength, Danger Sense  
> 04 ? ? Inflicts festering Wounds  
> 05 Psyche Dani (Mirage) Illusions  
> 06 Poof Billy (Wiccan) Explosive Teleportation  
> 07 Feral Laura (X-23) Healing Factor  
> 08 ? ? Reforms Matter  
> 09 Power Princess Molly (Bruiser) Strength, Induces Rage  
> 10 Miss Marvel Kamala (Ms. Marvel) Shapeshifting  
> 11 ? America (Miss America) Strength  
> 12 Power Boy Victor (Power Man) No Pain, Durable Skin  
> 13 ? Teddy (Hulkling) Strength  
> 14 Quarrel Kate (Hawkeye) Never Misses  
> 15 ? Taylor Hebert Projection 
> 
> Now for when the story take place… 
> 
> Let’s see a running battle between Butcher and the Teeth with the Protectorate. Fight takes place near Winslow High on the same day that the Trio push Taylor into that locker. Taylor Triggers just as Butcher is hit. The combination is enough to kill Butcher and Taylor now becomes the fifteenth Butcher. She does not really understand whom all these voices are, but still goes out that night and runs into Lung. Lung dies. The PRT take Taylor into custody. Story above.


	6. DC Infiltrates Worm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, I wanted to get this out before the holidays. Most likely it will be after New Year's before anything else comes out.
> 
> I hope you enjoy...
> 
> PS: I am in the market for a Beta if anyone is interested. Lots of stuff running through my head and help would be appreciated. Have agood holiday!

John considered the Kryptonian’s words. Perhaps he had made a mistake in choosing a reality that had such a deep and enduring history. The argument that ‘(he) wasn’t a god’ was flawed. He was a god. Omnipotence was a heavy burden to bear, especially considering that the mind forced to accept such a responsibility had started as a human brain.

It was fifty-nine years since he had been trapped inside the test chamber in his home reality. In three hours forty-seven minutes, he will cease to exist as he transfers his essence into Clark. It would be a good transition, although he now is three hours forty-five minutes to the alteration of his initial self-determined destiny. Thirty-one years ago, he left his Earth and discovered this one. He chose this reality due to the constant changes that it had suffered. It should have been a perfect reality to experiment. Why had he decided to alter his chosen plan?

Ah.

A new reality could be considered in order to execute his experiment with a new variable. Instead of a reality that had been weighed down by its heroes, why not choose one that had only recently come to understand that superheroes were possible? 

He looked over the various possibilities. He would still allow for young Clark to access his abilities, but perhaps offering such to another human brain would lead to the same outcome? Yes, a new experiment was necessary.

A new reality…

Interesting.

A malevolent mirror of his own interest already existed here. Older. Yet not wiser. Not human based. And there is more than one, although the second was dead. The third, while nearby, is uninterested in the Earth. 

Good.

John sighed as he chose to eliminate the golden reflection here. It should have reacted. Termination is never ideal, although his opponent seemed satisfied that the end was available. 

Interesting.

Is self-destruction a foregone conclusion when omnipotence offers no chance at new exploration? Why allow the experiment to fail prior to witnessing its final outcome? Is my death the only purpose left? Had the Kryptonian been correct that I was making too many mistakes? Was my belief in my own superiority the path by which that I had doomed myself? Was the loss of my humanity to great a sacrifice?

I miss Jenny in moments like this. 

Laurie, too.

With the intruder now eliminated, I see that this Earth is riddled with hidden portals. Leeches seek to create imperfect links to the humans to create powers? 

Why?

Ah. Conflict. The alien presence sought to learn. Noble, but that it wanted to create only for total annihilation to be the final product. Maybe its own, although I could see the path it tread to reach this reality. This was not a new experiment on their part. Nothing new was being gained… like children repeating the same action in order for a new result.

Would there have been anything different here?

Yes. The second one was already dead. 

It has been nine minutes since I recognized that I would alter my decision to self-terminate. Two minutes since I destroyed the deciding factor that created superhuman abilities on this earth. Six minutes until I decide to change what my mirror image attempted, although going backwards in time seems a waste.

The Kryptonian explained how altering the past will make things worse, therefore, I will alter the present. 

I do not like what I see, however. The alien leeches are withdrawing. Parahumans? What an interesting designation. If the Parahumans all start failing, a new introductory source of abilities will seem suspect.

Perhaps a modification of memories? 

And let’s use the Kryptonian’s reality as a basis for the new. I can start… my sight took me to a city off the Eastern Coast of North America. 

The United States? Of course.

Brockton Bay? It looked so much like Gotham City.

Winslow High School? Interesting.

Second floor? Locker 2168.

Taylor Anne Hebert? She is the perfect focus for a new world.

Contact.

..oo00OO**+**OO00oo..

January 2011

“I’m sorry, Mr. Hebert.” The doctor offered the broken man sitting across from him. News like this was never a good thing. How do you tell another parent that their only child was probably never going to come home? “The time your daughter was stuck in that locker, it, well…”

“It caused a psychotic break.” Hs colleague, Dr. Crane, almost cruelly offered. “Your daughter may never snap out of the delusion she has created for herself. It’s horrible, I’m sure, but we need to decide where to go from here.”

“Yes.” Doctor Mason took back over after shooting the other doctor a glare. “That’s not to say we are giving up. You shouldn’t give up hope either. With time and the right therapy, medication and time, there is a better than average chance that your daughter can come out of this. We’ve seen worse end happily.”

Daniel Hebert lifted his head from his hands, his eyes red. “Doctor, I appreciate what you are saying, but I can’t afford… I just don’t…”

Doctor Mason nodded. “The hospital is an educational facility, Mr. Hebert. We work with several of the surrounding colleges and universities. If you are willing, there are several options that will allow for a reduction in outlying costs.”

“Options?”

Doctor Crane smiled. “Our sister facility, the Elizabeth Arkham Institute, for instance. It offers excellent care for patients that need psychiatric care more than physical therapy.” The thin doctor pulled a few papers from the folder he held under his arm. “You should look over our brochure. There is even a number on the back for those in your circumstances.”

“Arkham? But I thought… I’ve heard stories…”

Doctor Crane nodded along with the father’s words. “That the Institute accepts the criminally insane? In some instances, yes. The courts have often required treatment for these so-called Parahuman villains. Before being sentenced to a life at the Bird Cage, a doctor’s opinion regarding the state of mind is required. It really is only fair that everyone is given an honest chance at being treated fairly. Don’t you agree?

“Y… well, sure, but we’re talking about my daughter.”

“Of course.” Doctor Mason answered smoothly. “There are several wings to that facility. Taylor would be kept far away from anyone sent there for court-ordered evaluation purposes. Besides, Arkham isn’t the only facility. It just happens to have some of the best financial incentives for families that cannot afford some of the other choices.”

Danny looked at the pamphlet. “I guess…”

“Excellent.” Doctor Crane’s eyes sparkled in delight. “Why don’t you take that and read over everything. Due diligence and all. Your insurance covers your daughter’s stay with us for the week, at the very least. Maybe until the following month. There’s no need to make a decision right away.”

“Thank you, doctors.” He stood and offered his hand. Both Doctor Mason and Crane reciprocated and offered a firm grip.

Taylor deserved to be taken care of. Danny might not have been the greatest father as of late, but he knew he had a new purpose now.

..oo00OO**+**OO00oo..

August 2011

“But, doc.” The teenage girl spun the chair around in a circle. Irreverently, her arms thrown out and her head thrown back in careless joy. “I don’t wanna take anymore pills. They make my loopier than I already am.”

At his gesture, the orderly watching over today’s therapy session grabbed the chair and stopping it and its inhabitant from spinning. The girl immediately twisted over and put a hand over her mouth. “Ugh. Almost puked there. Hate to get it on anyone’s shoes.” She lifted her leg and stared forlornly at her bare foot, her toes wiggling. “If I h ad shoes, That is.”

“Taylor…”

“Doc.”

Doctor Hugo Strange tapped his ink pen against the paper notebook that rested on his lap. “Taylor, as we have discussed, therapy is a time to be serious. You can play later.”

“But I wanna play now.” She protested, her mouth set in a deep frown. “No one like to play with me anymore. And there’s no fun games. Why’d you take all the games away?”

“Taylor, we explained all of this to you already.” The doctor sighed. “You attacked Miss Donavan.”

“She looked like Madison.”

At her remark, Doctor Strange made a notation on the notebook. “Yes, I remember. Miss Donavan did have similarly colored hair and body frame. However, she was not your alleged tormentor at school.”

“Not alleged. She was one of them. Her and Emma and Sophia, too.” Taylor argued.

“You are backsliding, Taylor. And you were doing so well. Such progress. Do we need to move this session and next week’s session to the other room, Taylor?”

At the threat, because, anyone that had been inside Arkham for any length of time knew that being offered the other room was definitely a threat, Taylor grew quiet. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself protectively. 

“No, sir.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I’ll be good. Here is good.”

Doctor Strange resumed tapping the notebook with the pen. “Are you sure?” He ignored her almost violent gesture of shaking her head in the negative. “You always seem do much calmer after we talk in the other room.”

“Please.” Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. “I’ll be good. What do ya wanna talk about? Talking in here is good.”

He finally nodded. “Very well, Taylor. We can stay here this time. However, any more silliness or violence and its straight to the other room. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Internally, he made a mental note to schedule Taylor with sometime in the other room. She needed to remember that he was in charge here. And besides, he enjoyed watching the young girl scream. She was the best screamer he’d ever seen outside of a horror movie. “Now, let’s talk about your dreams, as of late. Last session you mentioned…”

..oo00OO**+**OO00oo..

March 2012

Jack looked again at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Something was missing, but without anyone to immediately ask, he was somewhat stumped. He hated not immediately knowing what was wrong.

“You okay, Mister Jack?”

He turned to look at Bonesaw. She was one of his greatest creations. Up until he’d found his latest prize, she had most like been the favorite. He hoped that his girls would play nice, though Bonesaw had always been somewhat possessive of his time. Maybe even jealous. It was a shame she decided to remain in a child’s body. He might be crazy, but children… even only in appearance, was still too far for even him.

His newest, however. Still young, but definitely ripe for the picking. And to think, that slimy doctor was already starting to break her in. Almost a man after his own heart, but that Hugo actually considered himself above the patients within the facility. Jack Slash, included. Well, why let an already cooked dinner go to waste? It was easy enough to add some seasoning and make it my own.

He pulled the knife from the dead body lying at his feet. Corpses were not any fun, though Bonesaw seemed eager to play. “Here you are, dearie. Have fun.” His diminutive team member clapped her hands excitedly and then probably said something in response, but he was already over the whole thing and moved towards the door. He wanted to see his latest. She was somewhere in the building. He idly wondered if she was hiding from him or taking her well earned revenge on some of the staff here at Arkham… or maybe some of the other patients.

How glorious would that be?

The others of the Slaughterhouse Nine had been confused when he allowed himself fro be captured this last time. Bane, especially, had raised a fuss claiming that unless he was given the opportunity to fight with the various heroes sometime soon, he was going to go off on his own. Keeping the team together was a feat only a crazy person would undertake.

Good thing he was insane.

But no one could appreciate his genius. Taylor was going to be his masterpiece. The perfect foil against the likes of Armsmaster. Of Alexandria and Legend or Green Lantern. All of them. Supergirl, as well. None knew what they had. Only he realized what she could become.

How stupid were they all going to feel?

“Little owl?” Jack called down the hall. Was it going too far to use the pet name her parents, both dead now, used for her? Probably better than the nickname that ol’ Hugo boy used in that dark room of his. Maybe he should have let her take care of him? 

Oh, well. Too late there.

But, no. He needed to use that name whispered in her ears during those treatments. Jack knew that words, names especially, held power. He needed to have power over Taylor. He craved it. He loved the idea of being the one to hold the leash to what she could do… well, that and for other reasons, but that could wait.

“Little owl.” He called again.

“Do. Not. Call. Me. That.” Her voice echoed along the walls of the corridor. 

His permanent grin widened at the visceral tone that Taylor’s tone carried. He actually felt a chill run along his spine. Jack hadn’t been this excited since he’d gotten up under Armsmaster’s armor after murdering his sidekick those years ago. What had been his name again? Cardinal or something?

Ah, good times.

The object of his search came out from one of the offices. From where he stood, he could see the blood coating Taylor’s hands and up past her elbows. She looked like she had been having some real fun. He felt himself harden at the thought of them doing such together, his knives and her claws.

“Darling.” He held his arms out wide. It was a gamble, but nothing ventured…

The teenager fell into his arms. “Jack.” She mumbled.

“Shhhhh…” He ran a pale hand through her hair. “None of that. Names forced upon us are useless. Call me Joker.”

Her eyes, so dark they were almost black, met his own. She grinned evilly. “Sure thing, Mister Jay.”

His laughter barked out from his throat. Oh, this girl…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, trying to incorporate DC into Worm is hard. Sure, you can drag a character from one fandom into the other, but it doesn’t really feel combined. I decided to look at it in a way that if I wanted to have a chance at a complete story, there needed to be a reason for the change. Doctor Manhattan seemed the best possibility. Of course, then there’s the matter of who to change and why. Jack seemed like a good fit for the Joker… and I love a good evil Taylor fanfic.


	7. The Phenomenal Pair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Just go with it. Was supposed to be a comedy, of sorts, though I'm not really sure its all that funny. Took a bit of a more dramatic turn than I was expecting. Maybe if it had been fleshed out more, maybe. 
> 
> And no real insult to the city in question. All in good fun.

“From high above, if one was possibly flying over and could catch a glimpse, the two figures offered a surprisingly interesting and most impressive view. 

“The normally shorter of the two, though taller now due to the recent purchase of boots with three-inch lifts (we do not talk about it), hunched carefully along the side of the building. Her gaze carefully searching for… something, somewhere. The costume was dark, muted, offering the best to blend in with the dark shadows that seemed to cover the sprawling metropolis in the earliest hours of the morning. Dark blue tights – a bodysuit, actually, broken up from its single monotony with a mouse insignia, colored yellow, over the chest. It could clearly be determined that it was of very nice tailoring, fabric that had proven its worth after having successfully protected its wearer from the threats of knives and other sharp and pointed weapons used upon her person. Black gloves and boots. A long and impressively expensive cape draped over the shoulders. Also of note was the belt that housed the many gadgets and gizmos that had foiled plenty of villains’ evil and nefarious plans. 

“Her secret identity was concealed by the helmet that had been gifted to her by her own mentor those many years ago…

“By her side was her ever vigilant and eager-to-learn partner. Dressed of similar quality, though in complete opposite regarding purpose, the younger of the pair was in a muted yellow costume, neither mustard nor canary thankfully, that so well complemented the other. Brown boots and gloves matched the brown and black domino mask that covered her eyes. She, too, wore a belt carrying those few extras that would not fit in the belt belonging to the taller (thank you lifts) and older hero. The perfect sidekick. 

“The city at night, especially this night of all nights, was as ripe with the potential for danger as either of the two stalwart and mysterious heroes had ever had the chance to witness. Tonight, much like how the pungent aroma of leftover Chinese takeout wafted upwards from the dented and graffiti covered dumpster below towards the upper reaches of the building where the self-proclaimed Defenders of Birmingham stood vigilant and ever ready; they knew it was only a matter of time before their arch-nemesis, the dastardly Ki…”

“Are you narrating the scene again?”

The costumed wonder otherwise known as The Mouse Protector who was currently standing atop one of the various multiple story building in the financial district of the downtown area glanced over from her perch along the roof’s corner and offered a wry smirk towards her young apprentice. Her smooth motion was only slightly hindered by the helmet she wore, the stylized and ‘currently in litigation for potential trademark theft’ mouse ears only causing a slight impediment to where her sidekick was lounging in the plastic folding chair she had brought on tonight’s stakeout. In any other circumstance, the mentor would have scolded her young and eager student, but that she wished she had the forethought to bring one, as well.

“Uh… no?” Twisting away from her vantage over the streets below, Mouse Protector’s hand automatically went to the edge of her cape and moved it in a dramatic flourish that looked way cool. She ignored how the other girl rolled her eyes at the motion. “I mean, ‘No, Monterrey Jack. I’m merely thinking out loud.’” She said with her hands on her hips in what was supposed to be the heroic pose.

“Mm hm.” Her sidekick offered in a not-so-respectful tone of voice as she lifted her Taco Bell large-sized Pepsi and took a long drink from the straw. “Ahhh. Man that hits the spot.”

“You’re not taking this very seriously, you know.” The older woman complained. “There have been several robberies reported in the area. The Mouse Computer said that this is the most likely spot for tonight to get hit.”

“MP… your quote unquote Mouse Computer is that five year out of date Tinker crap that you stole from the Protectorate office in Houston.” Monterrey Jack laughingly complained. “And you’re still using dial up. We had to leave before the program you’re using finished loading.”

“Come on, Taylor….”

“Hey!” The new hero pointed a gloved finger. “No real names. That’s hero one-oh-one. You know that.”

The mouse-eared hero shook her head. “It’s fine. Really.” She offered at the other’s disbelieving look. “It’s not like there’s anyone out here anyway, MJ.”

“Then why are we out here? Let’s go home and heat up a pizza.”

“You just ate Taco Bell!”

“Well, yeah, but that was just the three taco combo. If I’d known how long you’d be out here giving your Captain’s Log again, I’d have either ordered more or, better yet, stayed at home.”

“You’re my sidekick. I’m the one doing the training here. You hafta follow my directions. It’s in the contract.”

Taylor, dressed in her cheesy colored costume, reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose. She should’ve never listened to that purple clad villain back in Brockton Bay. Of course following the advice of a villain, even a two-bit one like a member of the Undersiders, was destined to lead her into trouble. Three weeks as a Rogue Cape and Taylor had run afoul of the Protectorate and the local Parahuman Response Team and gotten arrested. Maybe jail would’ve been the better option than being forced to join the Wards Program.

How was she to know that drafted service as a Ward in place of possible imprisonment meant that she had to literally turn every decision-making choice in her life until eighteen to the organization? Worse, their Public Relations Department got first dibs at turning a Rogue slash maybe Villain slash unsuspecting teenager into their latest and greatest pet project. Gone was ever the prayer of a cool and edgy hero out to save the day. No, Taylor now was halfway across the country and saddled with the lamest costume and super identity ever… and listed as the ever-dutiful sidekick (not to mention the occasional hostage for the hero to save) to The Mouse Protector.

In Birmingham.

Let’s say that again… Birmingham.

As in Alabama.

Yay.

Oh, how she wished that she’d chosen to try being a superhero in a different way. Any other way.

“It’s not that bad, MJ.” Anne, the secret identity to the Mouse Protector, offered after she sat down on the ground next to the chair Taylor had brought. It had seemed funny at the time. Honest. “I know that you miss you Dad.”

“I do…”

“And I know you got railroaded by the PR guys. I mean, I get that the Cheese name was for me since they were trying to entice me back into the Protectorate.”

“I guess.” She admitted. She sucked at her drink, but was saddened to find it was mostly melted ice water flavored Pepsi now. “It’s not what I expected.”

“It never is.” Her mentor stated. “When I joined into the first Wards Program…”

“God, you are old.”

“Hey!” Mouse Protector slapped Monterrey Jack’s shoulder playfully. “I was very young when I joined. Just a kid, really.” They shared a laugh. “Anyway, I hate it. All these rules and orders and things I could and couldn’t do. I hated it.”

“Is that why you never joined the Protectorate?”

“Somewhat. There were a lot of reasons, but the bureaucracy of it all was a lot to get used to. And since I never joined until now, you can see that I never did really get used to it.”

“Why join now, then?”

“A lot of reasons, but mostly because of what I saw them doing to you.”

“Me?” Taylor’s eyes were wide. 

Mouse Protector nodded solemnly. “You… and others that were in the same boat as you.” She paused to look around. “The Wards Program was a great idea. Kids don’t need to be fighting monsters all alone, especially without some type of training. I got hurt a lot more than I should have, got lucky to survive a bunch of shi… stuff in way too many instances where I should have met that great provider of cheese in the sky.”

“Oh.”

The established hero nodded sagely. “I’ve watched the PRT for years use a lot of questionable means to force kids with powers into their ranks. It’s not all bad, but I think that there has to be a better way.”

“So, I shouldn’t have signed up?”

“Oh, you needed to.” The mouse-eared woman smiled. “MJ, you can’t be a part of what you did and not take some responsibility for it. There has to be someone to take the blame.”

“But it wasn’t my fault!” She cried out. “I wasn’t even there at the start of it. It was that girl in purple. And those lizard dog things. Maybe the guy in the motorcycle helmet, too.”

“Yeah. The Undersiders. Tattletale, Hellhound and Grue.” She admitted after a moment. “I know. The PRT knew, as well. Hell, even the media knew, but thy probably got paid to keep their mouths shut. The school definitely was bribed.”

“So they did take advantage of me!”

“Sure. Haven’t you been listening?” The supposed-to-be shorter woman sighed. “The moment the PRT realized that they had a potential Trump Tinker of your level running loose in the city? No way were you gonna get a fair deal. All the Capes knew it. Its why so many of us so-called Rogues and Independents joined. We knew what would happen.”

“Then why…?”

“You’ve got power, Taylor. Like, something real and very, very desirable in your classification. You’d have never lasted alone. If not the Protectorate and the Wards, then another country. Maybe another gang. The Elite. It would have been chaos.” She patted the younger girl’s hand. “I’ve got enough favors owed to get you as my apprentice and the PR Team would have been pressured to make you seem less of a threat.”

“But, they named me after cheese.” Monterrey Jack whined. Mouse Protector smiled. 

“They did. But no one is going to look for the Parahuman that did what you did with me of all people. Or in Birmingham, Alabama.”

“But why?”

“Taylor, you’re looking at this all wrong. Don’t look at it as you’re being punished. I actually am pretty darn good at all of this fighting crime stuff, ya know?” She waited until the girl nodded. “I am going to teach you, but it’s not all dark and doom and gloom. We have powers. Powers, Taylor. And we get to dress up in silly costumes and run around saying the stupidest things and people take us seriously. Why not have fun, huh?”

“I guess…” 

“No.” Mouse Protector protested. “Not ‘I guess’, but a resounding ‘yes!’” She stood, pulling Taylor up with her. “It’ll be the two of us, you and me, protecting the city from the evil doings of whomever wants to try anything here.”

“There’s no one here.”

“Not yet.” The hero smiled. “Trust me. We make a few appearances around this place driving in the Mouse Mobile…”

“Your eighty-six Camaro?” Monterey Jack offered. 

Mouse Protector ignored the comment. 

“Stop some crime...”

“What there is here.”

“And soon we’ll be attracting more bad guys than you can handle.” She finished with a flourish.

“Fine.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Yeah.”

Mouse Protector smiled. “Then whaddaya say, ol’ chum? Ready to have some fun?”

Taylor put her hands on her hips, matching the other woman. She glanced over to the Statue of Vulcan that the city was somewhat famous for, before noticing the utter impossibility that there was actual movement down on the street below in the alleyway behind the bank. Were those the actual robbers they had been waiting for? 

“I say, ‘Holy Gee Whiz, MP. Let’s go get those bank robbers!’” She pointed to where the bad guys were. Mouse Protector looked as shocked as Taylor felt right then. She gestured for her apprentice to take the lead. “Come on, MP!” She laughed. “Go go Cheese Rope!”

And then the two heroes were off to save the day…


	8. Say What?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun little snippet. A more innocent Taylor Triggers with the ability to, well... I'll let you see below.
> 
> I've noted that a lot of my stories are conversations held within Interrogation Rooms. I like the various interactions between characters as they slowly reveal more and more about themselves to each other. Maybe that's what I should have called this... 
> 
> Conversations in Interrogation Rooms.
> 
> Well, anyway, I hope you enjoy.

“I’m sorry.” Battery blinked several times, the prayer that what the young girl across the table from her just stated out loud was all some elaborate hoax devised by her husband, the asshole if he set this up, almost too much to contemplate. “You think you can create your own Endbringer to fight the actual Endbringers? That’s what you said, right?”

The teenager wearing a cheap plastic domino mask along with tangerine colored sweatpants and a Bullwinkle backpack smiled as she nodded her head. “Yes, ma’am.”

Battery lifted her left hand to pinch at the bridge of her nose, the onslaught of the migraine level headache that she knew was on its way, was prevented from reaching its destination due to the visor of her helmet that blocked the upper half of her face. The young hero had to settle for inhaling deeply through her nose and counting to ten… three times… before she chose to engage the girl, this potential Parahuman, with any sense of decorum. 

“And how, exactly, are you going to create…” she lifted her fingers and made quotation remarks when she said ‘create’ “… your very own Endbringer? That seems like it would be a bit hard to accomplish.”

“You’d think so, right? But ever since I got these powers, I can summon pretty much anything.” The girl pushed some of her dark hair away from her face. “I started with a cat, since my Dad never would let me get a cat. He said it was too much responsibility for a girl like me, and while he wasn't trying to be mean, exactly, he said that he knew he’d end up having to feed it and clean up after it, so no kitty for me.”

The hero found herself blinking several times again as she tried to follow along the girl’s train of thought. She sincerely hoped that this was a joke from Assault, otherwise, she had a crazy person on her hands.

“After I saw that calling Mister Munchkin worked, I called for another cat for him to play with, but I couldn’t. I was worried that I’d used up my one use of a power to summon a kitty, who is a very nice kitty, don’t get me wrong, but if I could only summon one thing, why limit myself to a cat, ya know?” Battery nodded, but only because it seemed the natural thing to do. “Anyway, I was a bit upset, but then I summoned a puppy.”

“A dog?”

The youngster nodded. “Yeah, so now I had a dog and a cat. I wondered if that meant I could only call one animal at a time of each, so I banished the puppy.”

“Banished?”

“Sent him back to wherever I called him from, I guess. I tried summoning him back again, but it wasn’t the same puppy. Kinda weird, ya know? So, I had a new puppy, Prince Leopold, but it ended up being a girl, so Princess Leopold, and Mister Munchkin and me.”

“How does this lead you to having an Endbringer?”

“I’m getting there.” The girl that had introduced herself as Ark complained. “See, I decided to see how many things I could summon.” She leaned forward across the table and whispered conspiratorially. “It’s a lot.” 

“What’s a lot?”

“Well, so far, I have Mister Munchkin and Princess Leopold along with a wolf, a tiger, a lion that really doesn’t get along with anyone, a rhino…”

“Where are you keeping all of these animals?” Battery interrupted as she remembered a report that had come across the PRT’s desk last Tuesday where the Brockton Bay Police Department had put in a request for Protectorate assistance regarding several wild and exotic animals thought to having been smuggled into the Bay for nefarious purposes. Miss Militia had theorized that a collector was adding to his or her personal menagerie.

The girl’s cheeks darkened. “I tried using one of the empty warehouses down by the docks, over by the fourteenth pier.” She waited until Battery nodded in understanding. “But they started complaining about being bored.”

“They complained?”

“Sure. I can talk to them.”

“And they talk back?”

She smiled widely. “They do. That’s how the giraffe told me that he wanted to be named George.”

“George? George the Giraffe?”

The teen girl nodded happily, her eyes bright. “Yep. I felt bad that I hadn’t waited to see what Mister Munchkin or Princess Leopold wanted to name themselves, but they said it was okay. I sure was glad to not make my new friends upset so early in the relationship.”

“Ark, this still doesn’t explain about you, what? Summoning your own Endbringer. Why do you think you can do something like that?”

“That’s true, but when I called for the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Dragon, they both came out all right.”

The woman in the blue-circuited costume stood, her heart beating rapidly. Was there an actual dinosaur loose somewhere in the city? Did she need to sound the alarm? “What?”

“It’s okay. Petey didn’t want to stay.”

“Petey? The dragon?” She inquired as she retook her seat.

“No, Petey was the T-Rex. Vicki likes it there. But Petey, he was so silly talking. My Mom used to talk with her hands. Dad used to say that she’d be a mute if someone tied her hands behind her back. Petey was like that, those little arms swinging back and forth. He seemed sad looking around. We talked a bit, but the bull elephant and the spider monkey kept interrupting. I realized then that I probably should come down and talk to you guys about helping and stuff. Maybe see if we can find a place to house all of them.”

“Why not send them back?” She asked. She wondered why no one had joined her from the other side of the two-way mirror. Surely, someone somewhere had been confirming what the girl was reporting to see if any of it might be true. Why was she still conducting this interview on her own?

“I told you, silly. If I banish one of my new friends away, someone different comes back when I try again. How would you like it if I sent you away and then when I tried to bring you back, it was someone else in your outfit, huh?”

Battery sighed while resisting the urge to pound her head repeatedly upon the table between them. “I see your point. So then, the dinosaur wanted to go?”

She nodded again. “Yeah. Like I said, he was sad. It seemed a lot meaner to force him to stay. Was that wrong?”

“No.” She offered the younger girl a smile. “I think you did the right thing. I don’t think anyone would want a sad Tyrannosaurus Rex running around the city.”

Any further opportunity to continue the conversation slash interview was interrupted when the door thankfully opened. Battery looked up and over her shoulder towards the mirror’s reflection to see Director Piggot enter the room. She was moving slowly, as if today was a particularly bad day, and her lips were pressed thin and downturned. Oh, she was not happy. Not happy at all.

“Ark.” The squat, blonde-haired woman barked out as she placed both hands upon the table’s surface and proceeded to loom over the young masked girl. “My name is Emily Piggot. I’m in charge here. How many of these so-called animals have you Summoned so far?”

“Wow. A lot, probably. Do you mean in all or just that are still here?” 

“Let’s start with still here and work outwards from there.”

At the order, the girl’s face scrunched up in obvious thought. That she was taking as long as she was made Battery fear for the potentially high number that was going to be forthcoming. The report that she vaguely remembered seeing had mentioned nearly ten or so… and none of them had been anything dangerous like lions or tigers or bears. And there had definitely not been anything about long extinct lizards or monsters from some fantasy novels.

“Well?”

“After Winnie, I think around fifty. Maybe fifty-five.” She sighed. “A lot of them wanted me to summon others that they could play with. Might’ve gotten a bit carried away and then lost count.”

Battery tried to not interrupt, but she was dying to know. “Who’s Winnie?”

Ark pulled the backpack off from her shoulder and then reached into her bag. As her hand slowly withdrew, the Cape instinctively pushed back in her chair in utter disbelief. Within her blue knitted gloved hand, there was a three-inch tall female form. With wings, much like a dragonfly might have. She slash it was almost beautiful, in a terrifyingly horrific way. Its features were definitely not human.

“Say ‘hello’ to Battery and Mrs. Piggot, Winnie Wynn Windrider.” The… whatever it was, offered a glare at Ark before turning to look at both of the adults that were on the other side of the table from where the teenager was sitting.

“Sal’ta’ons, oo’man.” It dipped its chin towards the Director. It moved its blank eyes to where Battery waited with a dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach. “To you, ‘sence drink’r, be war’d that the pris's be heavy.”

“What?” Battery uttered, but the creature Ark called Winnie had returned her attention to its summoner. 

“She’s a fairy.” Ark offered with a laugh in her voice. I didn’t mean to bring her here, but she hopped a ride when I summoned Roberto. I've offered to send her away, but she keeps talking about the Twins. One dead and one alive, both waiting. I don't understand, but she says its important.”

“Roberto?” Piggot was the one that asked the question this time, all the while her gaze never strayed for the fairy still standing upon Ark’s outstretched palm. “Who or what is Roberto?”

“Oh! He’s my unicorn.”

Forget banging her head on the table. Battery needed a drink. Something alcoholic and very, very stiff. At least a double.


	9. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not really sure where this one came from. A few ideas from other sources thrown into the mix here for a cute little story. What if something changed and Taylor was going to die after the locker incident? Would her death screw up what Contessa saw towards the path for victory? What steps would they take?

Contessa was walking along the outer corridor of the facility; the alien view provided from the windows to her right was one that she was unfamiliar with, when her foot turned slightly to the left, causing the mysterious woman to stumble slightly. Her hand met the cool metal of the wall, preventing her from falling to the tile floor. She blinked repeatedly. Her eyes unseeing as her mind raced through the changes to Path, their central directive suddenly in danger.

What changed?

The numbers… the numbers had changed.

A moment ago it had been fifteen hundred thirty-two decisions between now and the next truly important step in the ever-changing road towards victory, and something beyond what she could see had deviated from its natural course. A butterfly’s wing had flapped too soon perhaps? Standing upright and taking a moment to brush the errant hairs away from her face, Contessa reversed her course and headed to where the Doctor was currently going over the latest predications that Kurt had provided. A discussion was very necessary. 

The dark-haired woman mentally attempted to retrace the last few deviations that their group had enacted, wondering if somehow they had garnered the attention of one or more of those few individuals that were outside of her power’s purview. Rebecca had been quite efficient in regards to keeping tabs on her blind spots. Her pace quickened as she continued to second-guess the choices that they had made, mostly at her own insistence. It would not be good at this juncture for the direction she had insisted needed to be adhered to was faulty. David would love that.

Finally nearing her goal, Contessa wondered for not the first time whether leaving Thomas with so much leeway in his quest to conquer Brockton Bay, had his abilities somehow circumvented her own power to keep him in check. 

She knocked on the open door’s wooden surface. “Doctor?”

The black-skinned woman glanced up from the report she had been reading at her desk. From where she stood, Contessa looked over her earliest ally and sometimes friend. The leader of Cauldron appeared exhausted.

“Yes?” The Doctor asked as she leaned back in her office chair. “What is it? I thought you were off to check on the results from our incursions into India.”

“Something’s happened. Our path needs changing.”

The Doctor stood at her words, clearly shaken. “What? How?”

“I don’t know, yet.” Contessa admitted. “Just a few minutes ago, I stumbled. Almost fell. The ripples of the event haven’t settled yet. I am trying to backtrack to see when and where.”

“This is important. How can I help?”

The two normally unflappable women stared at one another in fear. The goal had been their central focus for years, the path chosen unshakable, but now that their choices might be called into question due to some unforeseen change… it was a terrifying thought. What would they do if they had to start all over?

Contessa sat primly in the chair opposite from where the Doctor remained standing. “We need Kurt down here. I can start going over the decisions we decided upon, see if we can work out some type of equation that might give us a clue as to where to start looking.”

“Of course.”

“There’s got to be a way to narrow where to begin.”

The Doctor brought her cellular phone out of her coat pocket and began texting the problem to the Number Man. As she was typing, the Doctor considered the other woman. “What do we know?”

“Fifteen hundred thirty-two steps just became one hundred forty-nine.”

“One hundred forty-nine?”

She nodded. “We need to make a major alternative to the natural narrative of the Earth Bet within one hundred forty-nine steps; otherwise an additional seven hundred million lives are lost within three years.”

“Can we go back that far? In the time allotted, I mean.” The Doctor finished the text and set the device down. “I don’t have a timeline for the steps, just that they are necessary.”

Her phone offered a single chirp. At a glance, she saw Kurt’s response that he was on his way. Nodding to herself, the Doctor made a decision. “I’ll call Rebecca. See if she has some time to assist.”

“One hundred forty-eight steps.” Contessa replied.

…ooo000OOO*** 53 ***OOO000ooo…

The lighting inside the hospital room was extremely poor, which gave off a very gloom picture. It was probably for the best that the bulbs in this section of the hospital were mostly burnt out and the corners all seemed to be shrouded in shadows considering that the entire building was in desperate need of repair. There was obvious wiring issues if the scorch marks near the outlets were any indication, as well as several obvious taped wires on machines years out of date. The Doctor grimaced at the notion that ultimately she and the others at Cauldron were somewhat responsible for the lack of proper funding at Brockton Bay General Hospital. All in the name of saving the many at the cost of the few… or the not so few.

In this case, maybe the one.

She silently drew closer to the double room, though only one of the beds occupied. The assortment of wires and other devices that attacked the lone female to the machines all ‘beeped’ and ‘booped’ and offered various sounds that one would expect within a room such as this. A small, broken figure of a teenaged girl was sleeping, unaware of the momentous moment that was about to be thrust upon her. To think that all of the trouble to their machinations was somehow connected to one broken girl in a city doomed to die on a world that was possibly beyond salvation. 

The Doctor watched. No one would bother to check on the girl for another hour forty-seven minutes. The fact that the girl needed checked on more regularly was insignificant considering how badly this wing was understaffed. The hospital’s director had only recently learned that his barely legal teenage mistress was pregnant. The funds he was embezzling would go a long way in either convincing her to get an abortion or as a safety net in case his wife discovered his philandering ways. The money might have offered a real difference towards the lives of the patients under his care, but the nineteen year old had an ‘ass that wouldn’t quit’ and that made it all right in the end, no pun intended.

“Who are you?” The teenager, barely fifteen, blinked her eyes repeatedly as her voice, rough from disuse, broke the silence of the night. “What ar-are you doin’ here?”

The unbidden visitor offered a smile. “Hello, Taylor.”

“Are you a doctor?”

The dark-skinned woman nodded. “I am, though not the one assigned to your case. I guess you could say that I’m more of a… a specialist, I suppose.”

“Oh.” Taylor Hebert nodded as she closed her eyes, the very act of speaking so little already tiring her broken body. “Came to see me before the end, eh?”

“Something like that.” The Doctor admitted. “Did they explain it all to you already then?”

“That I’m dying. Poisoned. Yeah.” There was no hatred in her voice. No recriminations towards the guilty. Those responsible for her condition. Only a sad acceptance. 

“I am sorry.”

“I ‘preciate that.” She coughed. The Doctor moved over to the table and used the pitcher provided to pour a plastic cup full of the lukewarm water. She watched the younger girl take a swallow. “Thanks.”

“More?”

She shook her head. “Maybe in a bit.” Taylor took a deep breath. “Rather have a strawberry milkshake.” She sighed. “So, what brings you here in the middle of the night? I get the feeling that this won’t be something completely on the up and up.”

“That’s a very astute observation.”

“Eh. My Daddy didn’t raise no fool. So, what do you want? I don’t really have a lot to offer right now.”

The Doctor smiled. “I thought I might offer you a choice.”

“A choice? A choice about what?”

At Taylor’s skeptical tone, the older woman moved over to the end of the bed so they could better look at one another. “A choice on your fate, Taylor Anne Hebert.”

“My fate’s to die. Unless you have Panacea on speed dial.”

“I might be able to offer that, but the cost would be more than you realize. Too high for anyone to pay. No, I thought I might see if you were interested in offering your body for science.”

Taylor offered a weak chuckle. “For science? You want my corpse after I die? That’s pretty grim, even for a doc that makes visits to a teenager’s room at two fourteen in the morning.”

“We’d pay handsomely for you.” The Doctor shrugged nonchalantly. “Your Father would be well taken care of for the rest of his days.” She tapped the side of her head. “Maybe even enough recompense to challenge those that are hiding the truth. Even properly catch those that are guilty. Daniel Hebert would get proper closure for you.”

“That’s cheating.” Taylor cleared her throat. Unasked, the Doctor offered another cup of water. “And I think Dad would prefer me buried next to Mom, not divided up for some study or whatever you want me for.”

“Oh, not for study. Not in the way you believe, anyway.” The Doctor waited, as the girl seemed to digest what was said. “In fact, you would still be alive. Somewhat.”

“What?” Her eyes scrunched up in confusion. “You can’t cure me and you say Panacea is too expensive, though I’ve never heard of her charging before and you’ll pay for my dead body, but I won’t be dead… exactly. That about right, Doc?”

The woman standing smiled. “Close.” She held her hand up to forestall Taylor interrupting. “I represent an organization that works with the Parahuman community. Our long-term goal is the ultimate survival of humanity. As many as we possibly can. One of the avenues that we offer is by granting powers to individuals that have no hope of going forward.”

“Forward? You mean living.”

“In a word, yes.” She admitted. “Like you said earlier, your fate is to die. But what if I could give you the chance to become something more? To be one of the heroes that the Earth so desperately needs?”

“I’d say you are crazy.” Taylor breathed out. “Wha’ kind of person are you? Do you get your kicks from doing things like this? Find the poor dying girl that has maybe a few days left and dangle some dream of being a superhero in their face? You’re some piece of work, Doc. Are you even a doctor?” That last question was filled with enough anger and spite that the Doctor could almost feel it like a physical blow.

“Door.” She spoke after a moment of withstanding the glare from the young teenager.

The space next to the Doctor within the room twisted. A rancid aroma of burning ozone wafted through the enclosed area as a knife cut of light ripped the fabric of reality and created a rectangle of… something else, a portal to elsewhere maybe, allowing for another figure to step through from wherever to here. Taylor watched, amazed, and possibly even slightly humbled.

The woman that stepped into Taylor’s room was possibly the most recognizable person in the whole world. For Taylor, she’d known this person’s name for just about the entirety of her life. Alexandria, the current head of the Los Angeles Branch of the Protectorate and former leader of the Triumvirate, stood at the foot of her hospital bed. The statuesque woman, her eyes hidden behind the visored helmet she was famous for wearing, shook hands with the Doctor.

“Miss Hebert.” Taylor was flabbergasted. The ironic hero knew her name. She could only nod in greeting, her ability to speak was gone. Maybe forever. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Me?” She squeaked, the ability to talk having returned… somewhat.

“Yes, you, Miss Hebert. The Doctor has made the offer?”

“Somewhat.” The other woman offered, her voice sounded almost guilty.

The famous hero turned to fully look at the other woman in Taylor’s room. “Somewhat?” Her voice seemed both bemused and slightly angered. “How can you mess up telling a fifteen year old girl that instead of dying you’re going to give her superpowers?”

“It’s not that easy.” The Doctor protested. “It’s not always as simple as you were.”

“Doctor…”

“She gave you powers, too?” Taylor interrupted. In any other situation, she might have been mortified at the gall of cutting the hero’s words off, but somewhere in the back of her mind, Taylor somewhat assumed that this was a drug-induced hallucination brought on by the amount of painkillers that ere currently pumping through her bloodstream. Surely, there was no way that a strange doctor and Alexandria were in her room offering her her childhood dream. “Really?”

At her inquiry, the two visitors promptly quieted down and had the decency to seem embarrassed at being called out. They looked at one another before Alexandria moved closer to the bed-stricken girl. “I was like you once.” Her voice was softer than Taylor imagined it could sound. “I had no hope for a future. None. And then one day the Doctor came and offered me a chance to do good. To be a hero. To help and try humanity.”

“Will I be like you?”

“Maybe.” The Protectorate member answered. “The formula doesn’t work the same for everybody.”

“But it’s a possibility?”

Looking over to where the Doctor still stood, Taylor watched as the black woman shrugged. “Anything is possible, although the exact mix we will be offering is different that what we gave Alexandria. With a different percentages from the source.”

“Why?”

“Why?” The Doctor chuckled. “Duplication doesn’t offer the world anything. We don’t need a second Alexandria. We would want a Taylor. The new Taylor that you’d maybe become.”

“What would I get?”

At Taylor’s question, both woman laughed softly. “Well, ‘after’ you agree, we’d take you away from here and begin testing.”

“My Dad…”

“Your father will believe you died.” The Doctor answered. “It is an unfortunate necessity that there are no ties to your former life. I am sorry.”

Before Taylor could say anything more, Alexandria took over. “After testing, we can determine the best fit of potential powers for you. The process usually takes longer, but we already have much of what we needed from the hospital. Blood type, hormone levels, and other stuff. What we need, however, is you to choose this.”

“I have to choose?”

“You do.” The taller woman offered a smile. “When we attempted this particular mix with those that were, let’s say ‘undecided’, the end results were less than promising.”

The teenager listened. “And I have to decide right now, don’t I?”

“You do.” Alexandria spoke. “I’m sorry, but for reasons that I cannot offer you right now, our plan didn’t involve this. Involve this offer in this way. It took a while to find you… and when we did, the timeframe of getting here was very, very limited.”

“This isn’t something you’re just going down the hallway offering to anybody, is it?”

“No, Taylor.” The Doctor smiled. “For tonight… for probably a long while, it’s just for you.”

“You’ll take care of my dad?”

“I promise.” Alexandria responded firmly, while the Doctor only nodded.

“Okay then.” Taylor said. “Let’s do this.”

…ooo000OOO*** 53 ***OOO000ooo…

The figure sat up, her hand moving immediately towards her head. The headache she was experiencing was worse than she could ever recall. It didn’t help that the room was extremely cold and whatever she was sleeping on was not cushioned and very hard.

“Anyone get the license of the bus that hit me?” She asked. When there wasn’t any response, the female opened her eyes. She immediately lifted her hand to cover her eyes from the glaring light… which caused quite a few questions to come to mind that she wanted answered as quickly as possible.

First, there was so many questions about her hand. To start, her hand was blue. Like, a dark (nearly black) skin tone of deep blue. Her gaze travelled up her are arm until it reached the sleeve of the tee she was apparently wearing. A quick lift of the lose collar and she realized that she was blue all over. Okay… weird skin color.

Next regarding her hand was that she had two large fingers and a thumb. A moment to check the other and, yes, both hands looked that way. She shook her head, the long black and curly hair whipping around, as she took a deep breath and sat further up on the cot that had acted as her bed apparently. Stretching, she realized that she was barefoot and her feet were similar to her hands, in that she had two large toes with a back foot thumb (?) where her heel should’ve been.

The room she was currently occupying seemed to be a jail cell of some sort. The off white concrete walls on three sides with the fourth being open other than the bars that prevented her from walking out. There was a sink and a toilet, the latter of which was behind a smaller patrician to allow for some semblance of privacy… thankfully the need to use it was not pressing. She idly wondered what she had done last night to result in her being held overnight. She couldn’t ever recall ever having been in any trouble with the Law before, so the idea that she had done something that horrible seemed fairly farfetched. She debated on whether it was true that she would be given a chance to call someone to come get her…

Who would she call?

There was somebody, of course. Right? Who would she call? Why couldn’t she think of anyone to call for help?

Then there was the most concerning thought that filled her mind.

What was her own name?

Who would she say was calling? What was her name? Who was she? Never mind that she had no idea of who to place a request for aid from, she had no memory of anything personal. No fiends. No address. No recollections of time spent with family and friends. Who was her mother? Father? What was her last name? Or her birthday? She closed her eyes and started taking several deep breaths. She had absolutely no idea why she should do so. Maybe a relative or teacher or someone somewhere at sometime had instructed her on how to take such in order to calm down, but there was no memory of it.

Achieving what little calmness that she could, the young woman stood and made her way over to the sink. There was a small mirror above it. Seeing the face that stared back at her, she still had no idea of who she was supposed to be… and from what little there seemed to be up inside of the Swiss cheese brain she had, what she looked like did not seem right.

Her face was blue just like the rest of her. The face seemed nice, maybe pretty even… if you ignored the blueness that was just, well, everywhere. Her eyes were a solid yellow. No irises. Just a solid yellow, though it almost seemed as if they burned from some inner flame inside. She opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue. Pink, as normal, she supposed, but her teeth were pointed and sharp. Running her tongue along the canines, she determined that they were very sharp. Her ears were pointed. There even seemed to be a…

“Aaaaahhh!” She screamed. Something brushed up against her calf. She twirled around, seeking whatever had grabbed her, but there was nothing. Who had touched her? What was going on? Who else was in here? Twisting around, her eyes glanced all around, until she finally discovered the culprit.

A tail.

She had a fucking devil’s tail, blue as the rest of her.

What in the literal Hell was going on? 

“What’s all the racket back here?” A deep voice pulled her out from her stupor over having a tail. The amnesiac girl looked towards the bars to see an older male, maybe in his thirties or forties, dressed in a police officer’s uniform. He was slightly overweight, though he still looked like he could put the fear of God into anyone that made trouble. His mustache covered his mouth completely, but he had very kind eyes. “Whatcha doing back here, Lil’ Blue?”

“Is that my name? Blue?” She asked desperately, but already felt that brief flicker of hope die as the officer shook his head.

“Sorry. We’ve been calling you ‘Blue’ since we found you last night.” He offered with a sympathetic smile. “We hoped you might have answers, though we feared you wouldn’t.”

“Why? Where am I?”

He leaned against the wall opposite of the bars across from where she stood. “Well, as for where you are. Welcome to Houston. Specifically, the Harris County Sherriff’s Department.”

“Houston?”

“Does that mean anything to you?”

She sighed. “Other than as a city in Texas, not really.”

“Well, that you know that much is sometimes a heap better than some of the others.”

“Others?”

He grimaced. He absently patted at his pockets as if he was searching for something. “Not a lot I can say about that. We got someone on the way to maybe answer a few things. Just know that there’ve been others in your predicament. We’ll get you squared away.”

“But there have been others that look like me? That can’t remember anything?”

The officer nodded. “Not exactly like you, but in similar circumstances. People that got no recollection of who they are or where they’re from. Most usually got some powers or such. The PRT will be here, most likely a Cape with ‘em. They’ll answer what they can.”

“PRT?”

“Yeah. The Parahuman Response Team. The ones that specialize in Parahuman stuff that tends to go on nowadays.”

Blue… it was as good of a name for now as anything else, nodded silently as she considered what else she could ask. The Sheriff or Sherriff’s Deputy, whatever his position, seemed willing to help. That was something. 

“Ya hungry?” He asked after the silence drew out. “We got a fridge with a few snacks that we offer. It ain’t eleven yet, so breakfast is done for the day and lunch hadn’t started yet. I could order something. What sounds good?”

What did sound good? Would she remember what her favorite foods were? And what about allergies? Or things that she hated?

“A burger, maybe?”

He smiled a wide, good teeth type of smile. “Patty’s down the street makes the best burgers in the county. Even made it on one of those reality shows on Food Network. You seen those?”

She considered the question. She knew what a television was. She even knew what the Food Network was, but what shows she enjoyed watching or the names of the hosts… their faces and names all eluded her grasp. Blue shook her head. 

He tried to not show his disappointment. “That’s all right. I reckon we’ll get two of her specials. Nothing makes a piss poor day better than a half pounder with everything, am I right?”

“No pickles.” Her mouth spoke before her brain could catch the thought. She felt tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes at the words spoken. She hated pickles. Blue had no idea why or when the dislike had happened, but she knew that one piece of information. She paused. Maybe two. “And bacon. Make sure there’s bacon.”

The officer smiled. A real smile, this time. “The Patty Special. With bacon, no pickles. All right.” He stood. “I’m Deputy Graham. William Graham, but nobody but my Mama calls me William, so you can call me Billy if you like. I’m gonna go order some food. You want anything special to drink?”

Blue considered the question. “A strawberry milkshake. Feels like I haven’t had one in a long time.” The demon looking girl offered by way of an explanation. 

“And a strawberry milkshake.” Billy laughed. “Coming right up.”

**Author's Note:**

> Taylor Triggered during Summer Camp. Her father was called and she was taken to the hospital and the PRT informed well before she came home and had that fateful meeting with Emma and Sophia. Instead, Sophia as Shadow Stalker meets Taylor as Magician at the Wards and they somewhat become friends. When they meet later at Winslow with Emma, the three become friends.
> 
> Taylor’s look is basically a teenage Zatanna from DC Comics. Taylor looks like herself until she summons the Top Hat and she turns into Magician, which is a complete appearance change much like how Billy Batson turned into Captain Marvel (Shazam), also from DC Comics. Probably more like how Mary turned into a slightly older Mary Marvel, opposed to the giant age difference of Billy and Captain Marvel.
> 
> As Magician, Taylor can do small magics that are similar to telekinesis, as well as a few illusions and slights-of-hand. Her main power is the Top Hat, which allows her to pull anything out of it that can fit through that hat’s brim. I foresaw the hat giving her trouble, much like Presto the Magician from the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. Everything is useful, but without a detailed idea of what you want, the Hat can interpret your wish in whichever way it sees fit.
> 
> My fanfic would be a retelling of Worm for the first part of the story, just… brighter. Not as dark and heavy. I am not sure who the overall bad guy might be. I considered Tattletale/Lisa or Grue/Brian. Tattletale is the character I most hate from the original work with Grue being a close second. Neither offered much to Taylor’s growth, in my opinion, and other characters offered better options and storylines.


End file.
